Her War with Peace
by Corvaisis
Summary: FINISHED! A lonely new student at Sky High falls for Warren and desires his friendship, but is unsure how to go about winning his affection. WarrenOC, NOT MarySue.
1. Life Goes On

**War and Peace**

Disclaimer: None of the Sky High characters or locations are mine, naturally, but you knew that already. I do, however, own my original character, Dawn Odelle. I am also completely unaffiliated with the author, publisher, and/or editors of Count Leo Tolstoy's book "War and Peace". The book is referenced without direct permission.

**Chapter One: Life Goes On**

"_**It is not possible, mon cher, to go about saying all that one thinks. Now then, have you decided on something? Are you going into the Horse Guards or do you intend to become a diplomat?" asked Prince Andrei, after a momentary silence.**_

_**Pierre sat up on the sofa, his legs crossed under him.**_

"_**Would you believe it, I still don't know. Neither one appeals to me."**_

"_**But you have to decide on something, don't you? Your father is expecting it."**_

**- Count Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace, page 52**

"Check her out!" Layla whispered to Will, an eyebrow raised at the object of her exclamation.

"You really want me to?" Will countered, and Layla poked him in the side. "You know what I mean; just look at her. Word in the hall is that she stood up to Boomer in power placement and got sidekicked for it." "Wouldn't be the first time." Will snorted, eyeing the girl. "Yeah, but it's not just that. She threw him into a wall."

Silence reigned in their conversation before Will spoke up again. "She has super strength?" "She's telekinetic. She picked him up with her mind and hurled him across the gym." His girlfriend murmured, still staring at the lonesome looking female. "Principle Powers sent her to the detention room, but she got off easy because it's her first day. She was only there for an hour before they let her out."

"So she's got a temper like Warren's, a power like mine, and standpoints like yours?" He grinned, moseying down the hall towards the cafeteria. "Doesn't sound like such a bad girl."

The girl in question was a fourteen year old freshman named Dawn Odelle. She had been homeschooled before she discovered her telekinetic abilities and was rapidly transferred to Sky High. Her parents were distressed that her powers had not come sooner, but pleased that they had, in fact, arrived.

Dawn was actually looking forward to go on being a normal kid, but it appeared she wasn't destined to do so. "Life goes on." She muttered to herself as she mused over the last few weeks, sharply turning the corner to go into the cafeteria. She had heard about the Commander's son - Will - smacking head-on into Warren Peace when _he_ sharply turned around a corner, and she half expected – and hoped – to do the same thing and cause a stir.

No such luck. She was one of the first into the cafeteria, but she noted that Warren was already seated and was slowly, nonchalantly sporking food into his mouth as his eyes scanned the pages of his book. Dawn craned her head, attempting to see what he was reading, before realizing she was standing in the doorway. Oops.

A couple of kids materialized through her while a purple guinea pig muttered rude and angry remarks as it scurried through her feet. Moving out of the way and watching the flow of kids stream through the door and practically attack the trays of food they were collecting, Dawn sighed. She was going to miss homeschooling and her friends she'd made in her homeschool groups. "Life goes on." She whispered to herself again, trying not to dwell.

_He looks lonely._ Dawn pondered to herself, her gaze fixated on Warren. She had, of course, heard about the band of misfits who had last year saved the school and probably the planet, and the young man at whom she was staring had been part of the group. Except…Stronghold, his girlfriend, and the rest of his crew were still all sitting at another table. Dawn considered this to be insulting to Warren, and she was dying to meet him, so she decided to go give him company. If she could work up the nerve, that is.

What Dawn didn't know is that although the pyrokinetic remained separated from the rest of the group, it wasn't out of Will's spite, or anyone else's hard feelings. Warren was, in truth, Will's best friend, but he had an isolative nature. His reclusive tendencies had put him at an awkward angle when choosing between his usual table or that of his friends, but his traditional spirit had won over. It was by his choice and his alone that he was by himself, and Dawn had yet to learn that lesson.

The telekinetic sauntered casually over to Warren's table, a bowl of salad in her hands.

"The salad looks like the only thing edible here." Dawn joked, hoping for a reaction.

Nothing.

"See, I was homeschooled, and I've never had cafeteria food before."

Silence.

"I, um…see…" She shifted from one foot to another and finally blurted her inquiry. "I'm Dawn. Mind if I sit here?"

"Yes."

"We're getting somewhere!" Dawn smiled at him cheerfully, although his eyes were not yet lifted from his book. "I'll interpret that 'yes' as a 'go ahead and have a seat', if you don't mind." She slipped into the chair opposite from him and started on her salad. "You're Warren, right?"

Warren sighed and finally looked up from his book, a slightly pained expression on his face. "You can't even begin to imagine how many times I've had this conversation."

"I…um…"

"I like being alone. Yes, my name's Warren, so if that makes you happy, would you please go sit somewhere else." The girl was surprised by his outburst, but she could take a hint, even if it wasn't exactly subtle. "I…sure. Listen, I'm really sorry. Really."

Not giving him a chance to thank her or say anything else, Dawn abruptly stood and moved to the table to the left of him, staring at her salad and eating wordlessly. When she did take a chance to look back up at Warren, her green eyes caught his, and he gave her what she interpreted as the shadow of a rueful smile, the same pained expression still on his face. It was only when he shifted the book in his hands that she caught the name of the author of his literary interest.

_Count Tolstoy._

"War and Peace." She murmured softly, smiling at the play on words. "War and Peace."

---

**_Alright, yes, I know it wasn't too long, but I'm working as hard as I can here. Sorry for the rather uneventful introduction, but I had to start somewhere._**


	2. My Own Prison

**Chapter Two: My Own Prison**

"**_I entirely agree with you," replied Nikolai, flushing, turning his plate around, and moving his wineglass with an air of such desperate resolve that he looked as if he were being exposed to some great danger at that very moment. "I am convinced that we Russians must conquer or die," he said, feeling, as others did after the words were out, that they were too exalted and bombastic for the present occasion, and consequently inept._**

"_**What you said just now was beautiful," Julie remarked with a sigh.**_

_**Sonya trembled all over when Nikolai spoke, and blushed to her ears and all down her neck and shoulders.**_

**- Count Leo Tolstoy's "War and Peace", page 97**

"This isn't easy for me to say."

Startled by the deep voice that was apparently speaking to her, Dawn immediately looked up and saw the figure of Warren hesitantly looming over her. "I…I beg your pardon?"

"I want to…apologize, I guess, for what I said. I've been trying to be…" Warren sighed, as though it was taking everything out of him to say this to her. "I've been trying to be nicer to people ever since last year, and I wanted to apologize for snapping at you." He said it in a strung-up sentence, like he was trying to spit it out as fast as he could and then run away back to his isolation.

"It was fine." Dawn assured him, extremely surprised by his apology. From the stories she had heard, the young man wasn't usually so amicable. "I didn't know what I was doing." She attempted to make a further apology, but was answered with a curt nod from Warren, and she took it as her cue to shut up. He turned back around, walked to his table, and once more fixed his gaze on his book. The matter was settled.

Dawn couldn't get the butterflies out of her stomach though, and she began reading deeply into the situation. _He apologized!_ She thought excitedly. _To me!_ _Warren Peace doesn't DO that. Maybe…maybe he wants to be friends? _Such thoughts danced about happily in her mind until the more logical side of her pushed them down. _Dawn, get a hold of yourself,_ she reasoned. _He was just being nice because he's in the process of learning to work with others. Sounds like you. _She thought wryly, and scooped the last of her salad into her mouth.

She was about to pull a book out of her backpack when someone tapped her on the shoulder. "Not again," Dawn groaned half-heartedly, turning to face her shoulder-attacker.

"Hi, you look kind of alone. You want some company?" The perky voice was hardly Warren's; it belonged to Layla, and she was accompanied by the rest of her usual gang.

"I…" Dawn wasn't quite sure what to say, but finally she forced a smile that matched the one Layla was sporting. "Sure, thanks."

Will, Ethan, Zach, Magenta, and Layla slid themselves into chairs around Dawn, and introductions flew like spitballs. Conversation was immediately started, and the chatter was almost deafening. However, Dawn was being left out of the conversation – not on purpose, of course, but it was happening – and she began feeling claustrophobic. _What's wrong with you?_ She mentally hissed at herself. She had been perfectly willing to go up and talk to Warren, but now, surrounded by all these people…

She realized, to her horror, that by telekinetically moving light particles and matter, she had inadvertently created a bubble-shaped force field around herself. Every time she shifted in her seat, the field nudged Ethan's chair farther away from her. The young melter looked stunned that he was moving across the floor, seemingly without any help.

Now the others had noticed it too. _Ohhh, this is awkward._ She thought, closing her eyes in misery as the one-sided conversation ground to a halt. "Dawn?" Will inquired, glancing oddly at her. "Are you trying to move us away from you?"

"…Yes." Dawn whispered, wishing she could disappear. "I didn't mean to! I didn't mean to be so rude; I'm just not used to this, and it's all so different!" She tried to fight back a sob as she stared at her hands, not trusting herself to meet the gazes of the concerned individuals around her.

"Oookay, I think someone needs to be alone for a while." Magenta piped up, scooting her chair back. The screech of metal on linoleum was harsh, but Dawn took guilty relief in the interruption. One by one, all the sidekicks (and hero) stood and walked awkwardly back to their table. All except one.

"I know how it feels to be alone and then suddenly accepted by a lot of people." Ethan consoled from his scooted-away position. "All the sidekicks felt that way when Will got moved to Hero class, we saved the day, and people suddenly liked us."

"Oh, man, I've been such a jerk. I just met you guys and already I'm being all solitary." Dawn lamented, keeping her eyes on her hands.

Ethan stood up and patted her on the shoulder, "You think _you're_ bad, you should've seen Warren when we - " The pyrokinetic's head snapped up at the mention of his name, and Ethan hurried to re-phrase his statement. "What I _meant_ was that not everybody is really social during their first day of school. Don't worry about it." Dawn finally looked up and smiled weakly at him. "Thanks." He patted her one more time and then wandered off to his table again.

Feeling a little bit better, Dawn looked at the clock and stood, wanting to make sure she was punctual for her next class. Before she was out the door of the cafeteria, she smelled a faint scent of leather. Turning around, she found herself face-to-face with Warren.

"How did I screw up this time?" Dawn asked meekly, blanching at the look on Warren's face. The pained, why-can't-you-people-leave-me-alone look was gone; it had been replaced with the I'm-going-to-roast-you-alive look with which almost everyone at Sky High was now familiar. Warren towered above her, and he muttered two sentences to her in a low growl.

"Paper Lantern; eight o'clock. _Be there._"

"But I don't know what - "

But by the time she had started her sentence, he had wheeled away and was gone.

-------

**_Eek, I meant to make THIS one longer, but I had to stop at that point! hides I hope very much that you enjoyed this one, and that you'll enjoy the next one. And it means a lot to me that you're reading them; thanks!_**


	3. Know Thyself

**Chapter Three: Know Thyself**

**_Princess Marya, smiling tenderly, looked at him in silence._**

"_**I have known you for a long time, you see, and I love you like a brother," she said.**_

"_**How do you find Andrei?" she asked hurriedly, not giving him time to respond to her expression of affection. "I am very anxious about him. His health was better in the winter, but last spring his wound re-opened and the doctor said he ought to go away and have proper treatment. And I am also very much afraid for him spiritually. He is not a nature to suffer and, like us women, find relief in tears. He keeps it all within him. Today he is cheerful and animated, but that is the effect of your visit: he is not often like this. If you could only persuade him to go abroad! He needs activity, and this quiet, regular life is very harmful to him. Others don't notice it, but I see it."**_

**Count Leo Tolstoy's "War and Peace", page 477**

_Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap._ The incessant noise coming from Dawn's table was about to drive other guests in the Paper Lantern to their wit's end. She had been gently mentally rocking a metal candle-holder from each corner to the other, causing each corner to tap gently on the table top. It wasn't enough noise to cause a ruckus, but the sound of the rocking repeating itself over and over was starting to rub some of the customers the wrong way.

At this point, Dawn was past caring. It was eight thirty, and Warren hadn't shown up. She was surprised enough to find that she was the only one he had told to go to the Paper Lantern, and it had sent a surge of joy through her, thinking it was _almost_ like a date.

"Well it takes two to tango, honey." She muttered, continuing the rocking.

_Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap._

"Will you stop that!" A low, exasperated voice echoed from behind her, and Dawn was about to give the person a piece of her mind when she saw it was Warren. "We're getting complaints from our customers, and I've been forced to vouch for you so you won't get kicked out." He grumbled, seating himself across from her. His dark hair was swept back from his face, a look she decided she liked on him; you could see his eyes better.

Dawn noted the towel thrown over his shoulder, and she cringed, putting two and two together. "You work here, don't you."

"Tell her what she's won, Alex." Warren quoted sarcastically, but he couldn't stop a hint of a smile playing at the corners of his mouth. "Yeah," he confirmed, "I work here. My mom had surgery this afternoon, so I've been working the kitchens all evening."

"Oh, Warren, I didn't know; I'm really sorry." Dawn found the same awkward feeling of not knowing what she was doing creep back into the pit of her stomach. The candle holder that had been momentarily suspended on one corner fell with a dull thud as her concentration broke. "I…I…how's your mother doing?" She finally asked, fiddling anxiously with her "True Love Waits" ring.

"She's fine. She's been missing a bone in her heel for a while now, and the doctors decided to substitute a metal pin for it." Warren acted like the whole thing was no big deal. "She should be back early next week."

Dawn was immediately concerned. "Can you work the restaurant for that long?" Glancing around, she thought of more questions, "Am I holding you up? Do you need to get back?"

Warren smiled and reached across the table, putting his hand on her shoulders. "Calm down, woman. I wouldn't have come out here if I couldn't take a break for a while."

The "woman" found herself very, very aware that his hands were on her shoulders, bracing her back in the booth. "…If you say so. But I don't want to inconvenience you." Dawn found it hard to believe that she was capable of coherent speech, with surging feelings of concern, anxiety, surprise, and with her heart racing as quickly as it was.

Warren's hands lingered on her shoulders, as though he wasn't fully persuaded she could do without him bracing her. Dawn could feel an unusual amount of heat sweeping through his hands, and she savored it. She would have expected pain from such an amount of heat, but instead she felt only calmed by it.

In spite of her heart that was doing back-flips in her body, the telekinetic calmed down sufficiently until Warren removed his hands. Looking left and right so as not to draw suspicion, he flicked two of his fingers together – as you would a match on paper – and inconspicuously lit one of the two candles on the table.

"If you don't mind me saying so, you seem very…different at school than you do here." Dawn managed tentatively, forcing herself to ignore the half smile on Warren's face, and the heat from the candle, and the deepening darkness of Warren's eyes.

_Stop that!_ She mentally chided herself. Warren had already started to answer, and she'd been so caught up in staring at his eyes that she hadn't been listening.

"…tough guy image that I have to keep up at school. Don't get me wrong, I'm not acting a role; that is _me_ that you see at school, but…enforced more. The Paper Lantern lets me relax. I can be the normal, laid-back,"

_Hot,_ Dawn interjected in the privacy of her mind,

"hard-working busboy." Warren finished. "And if I ever need to let off a little stress, there are always some ovens that need to be lit. Matches are a waste of valuable time."

Dawn grinned, in spite of herself. She was becoming more at ease with the pyrokinetic; maybe that's what had drawn her to him in the first place. "So that's why I hear you're not often in the detention room; you let off all your steam here."

"Yeah, speaking of that," Warren countered, starting to grin, "what were _you_ doing there this morning?"

She flushed and made a face. "You heard about that, huh?"

"The whole _school_ heard about it. Nobody's ever before actually inflicted any physical harm on Boomer in power placement."

"Oh. Well, yeah, I really don't have that much of a temper, to be honest." Dawn insisted. "But he was being obnoxious and had just sidekicked a perfectly good hero."

Warren raised an eyebrow. "And how was that decision up to you?"

Dawn flushed again. "She could materialize through walls and solid matter, y'know? Out of phase, or whatever."

He rolled his eyes. "You're not answering my question."

"Okay, fine, it wasn't technically my decision, but I couldn't just stand there!" Dawn threw up her hands mock-defensively, as if warding off some kind of attack.

Warren grinned and propped up his elbows on the table, resting his chin in his hands. "Okay, so then what happened?"

"Well, the kid was a girl, and she got really broken up about the whole thing. Boomer started to call her a whiner baby and was mocking her in front of the whole class, so I just pushed him back gently."

"Gently."

"Yeah, I didn't gauge my mental strength real well. What I thought would come out as a love-tap kind of resulted in me throwing him across the gym."

"Into the wall." He was starting to smirk now.

"Yeah…into the wall. But he didn't get hurt or anything!"

Warren laughed, a short bark of mirth. Suddenly stepping outside of her comfort zone, Dawn decided to be forward. "You should do that more often."

Caught off guard, Warren's grin disappeared and was replaced by a surprised and baffled stare. "What?"

She'd gotten herself into the comment; there was no going back now. "Laugh. You should laugh more often."

There was momentarily silence, and Dawn shifted uncomfortably in her seat. Maybe she should just apologize and explain she didn't mean anyth –

"Well you should do _that_ more often." Warren shot back.

"Scoot around nervously?" She blurted, completely startled.

To her amusement, Warren laughed again, but he shook his head. "You should say what you're thinking more often. It suits you better than thinking the situation is awkward."

Her eyes locked onto his, and she swallowed hard. Warren slowly stood up, not breaking their gaze. "I need to get back to the kitchens now." He murmured, offering her his hand so she could stand as well. Her green eyes switched over from his twin pools of darkness to his outstretched hand, and she hesitantly grasped it with her own.

Gently, he lifted her to her feet, and she found herself once more looking up into his eyes, her breathing shallow but quick. _If this was Hollywood, _Dawn mused in her head, _he would bend down to kiss me softly yet passionately, and then he would be back on his way to the kitchens. We would wave a sorrowful goodbye, I would blow him a kiss, and I would be out the door into the cold night ai –_ her thoughts were abruptly cut off as he punched her in the shoulder, and she almost choked with surprise.

_That…wasn't what I was expecting…_

"See you tomorrow." He muttered, briskly turning around and vanishing back into the kitchens. As her senses came back to her, she attempted a sorrowful wave, ala Hollywood, but since Warren couldn't see her, it was fairly useless.

Opening the door and stepping into the darkness, she shuddered with cold. The warmth of the Paper Lantern was still barely being retained in her, and she tried to capture it with her jacket. As she began the trek of a few blocks to get back to her house, she thought she heard something in an alleyway.

"Hello?" She called out hesitantly, her hand straying to the knife she always kept in her pocket – except for when she was at school, of course. _Stupid regulations._ Her mind wandered, but she was quickly brought back to reality when something rustled behind her.

Glancing back, Dawn could see the red and gold glow of the Paper Lantern, but her heart was now beating too rapidly from fear for her to enjoy the warmth that the restaurant seemed to radiate. Her tennis shoes crunched on stray pebbles that lead to the asphalt road she was approaching; the road that would lead her home.

As she paused to check that road, she heard crunching footsteps behind her. Her knife whistled as it snapped out, and she glanced in a paranoid manner from side to side, her eyes scanning the shadowy corners. "I have a knife!" She yelled, but the darkness seemed to creep in on her.

Tendrils of the night swept up her body, enveloping and compacting her with choking force. Dawn let out a final strangled sob before she was completely overtaken by the shadows.

------

**_Finally, these are getting to a decent length! Hope you're enjoying so far._**

**_When a good friend of mine critiqued this (you rock, Jeana), she said she didn't understand Dawn's struggle with the shadows. At this point, you're not SUPPOSED to understand it. All will be made clear in chapter four, don't worry. Well, clearer. Ish._**

**_However, I can assure you that I'm not trying to be all poeticky trying to describe a thug attacking her as a "shadow". Don't worry, I'm not going to try THAT hard to confuse you._**

**_Oh, and it's going to be a few days before chapter four is up; partly because it's horribly long (it's my favorite chapter; it just HAD to be horribly long) and partly because I'm being bogged down with the things in life other than writing. In my opinion, they're insignificant things, but in the opinions of my transcript, they are very significant. _**

**_So bear with me, please!_**

**_Devotedly yours,_**

**_ Corvaisis _**


	4. He Who Hesitates Is Lost

**Chapter Four: He Who Hesitates is Lost**

"_**Listen, dear Annette," said the prince, suddenly taking his companion's hand, and for some reason bending it downwards. "Arrange this matter for me and I am your faithful slave for ever and ever. She's of good family and well off. That's all I want."**_

_**And with the freedom, familiarity, and grace that distinguished him, he took the maid-of-honor's hand, kissed it, and as he kissed it waved her hand, while he stretched forward in his low chair and gazed away into the distance. **_

**Count Leo Tolstoy's "War and Peace", page 5**

Dawn awoke to the noises and aromas of the Paper Lantern. Soft Chinese music clinked gently in the background, and golden lights loomed over her head.

"Hey, welcome back to the land of the living." The familiar bass voice of Warren Peace was present not too far from her.

"Thanks," Dawn mumbled, rubbing her eyes. "Things are kind of fuzzy. What happened?"

"I was hoping you could tell me. You left, then everybody else left soon after - we close at nine, y'know - , and I was locking up when I saw you over by the road. I couldn't just leave you there, so I brought you in for a while."

Dawn's breath caught in her throat. "So everybody's gone now but you and me?" He didn't respond to her question, so she took the chance to clear her vision and observe her surroundings. She appeared to be in an office at the back of the Paper Lantern; possibly that of Warren's mother. Three armless chairs set out in a row served as a makeshift bed, and the young pyrokinetic who had taken her in was sitting on the floor at other side of the room, watching her. Strands of hair had fallen from his ponytail, now hanging in his face and framing the dark eyes which so fascinated Dawn.

"I had to carry you in." Warren remarked abruptly, catching Dawn off guard. She wasn't sure if he was expecting thanks for his services or if he was just subtly mocking her newfound affection for him.

"Carried…"

"Yeah. You came to once and asked me if I was an angel because – and I quote – 'I must be dead, and faces like yours can't exist in Hell.'" His voice became higher as he imitated her, and she turned horribly red, looking away to hide her face. "And then," he continued, "you told me I smelled like Chinese food and leather, and then you passed out again." He said wryly, his tone indicating that he was fighting to hide a smile.

_He's so easy-going when he's here; I wish he was like this more often._ Dawn mused, trying to force her blush to subside. She decided to test her legs, and she shakily got to her feet. "Ugh, I feel like I'm gonna hurl." She steadied herself on a chair and casually checked her pocket, knowing she would feel the handle of her knife there.

Her pocket was empty.

"My knife; where's my knife?" She yelped, suddenly alert.

Warren gave her a mildly confused glance. "Maybe you dropped it. I seem to remember something gleaming on the ground, but I didn't give it a second thought. All I did was carry you in; sorry if you lost your blade."

"Well I'm going out there to find it." Dawn informed him, exiting the restaurant. She approached the area where she knew she had been, and she discovered that a street light had recently turned on. She wished it had come on sooner, and she might not have been so paranoid. She searched the ground thoroughly before coming back inside the office, dejected. "It's not there. You sure nothing else happened?"

"I said I was sorry." Warren replied curtly.

She half-heartedly assured him it was okay, but inwardly she sulked. Because of a spurt of paranoia and a fainting spell, she had not only inconvenienced her new friend, but had also lost her best knife. It just wasn't her day.

As Dawn examined her personal conditions, she noted apprehensively that she had burn marks on her shirt, and her right upper arm had been dotted with bruises shaped like fingertips, as though someone had seized her roughly. She thought momentarily that it might have been Warren, but that thought was quickly banished from her mind. He may not have been the most friendly, chivalrous young man, but he wouldn't have been that abusive.

"Warren, there's something you haven't told me."

"Observant little runt, aren't you."

"Hey!" She exclaimed, drawing herself up to her full height of five foot seven.

"After I locked up the Lantern, I was pulling out my motorcycle when I saw a…a…" He sighed, "You're going to think I'm insane."

"Oh?" Dawn shot back, "I didn't know you were concerned with what other people thought."

Warren growled at her taunt, and his hands started to smoke. "Don't mess with me, kid." He clenched his fists and continued. "I saw you on the ground surrounded by a black shape. There was a street lamp hitting you dead on; there shouldn't have been any shadows. It was like a swirling mist; definitely not human."

Dawn was becoming breathless, and she pulled up a chair near Warren, motioning for him to go on.

"That's it."

"No, it's not."

"…Before I continue, I want you to understand first that the only reason I came to your defense was because I didn't want this thing lurking outside my mom's restau - "

Dawn whacked him on the shoulder. "I don't care, Warren."

"Right. I ignited, charged it, and it…it…shaped itself into a person. It grabbed you by the arm and started to drag you away before I nailed it with a fireball. Then it fished around on the ground and took off." He let down his hair and shook it back with his fingers, like he needed to be doing something with his hands. "Now, that's all that happened; I swear."

Dawn nodded and paced restlessly around the room. "But why me?" She thought out loud. "I am a very unimportant, unconnected person." She wasn't trying to gain Warren's pity, and she didn't expect to get a quick 'oh, yes you are' assurance that you would get from most people. She was just stating facts. "I'm not even interesting!"

"That could be contested." Warren muttered under his breath, but to stop another awkward situation, Dawn pretended she hadn't heard him. "Heck, this was my first day of school! What could this…this _thing_ possibly want with me, and why did - " She was cut off by the chiming of a clock.

Dong.

Dawn gaped. "Oh my gosh, Warren; it's one in the morning! How long was I out?"

"Couple of hours." He mumbled, trying to be nonchalant.

"And you've been watching me for a couple of hours."

"Yeah."

Dawn rolled her eyes and grabbed her jacket, which had been removed. "I'll see you later, Warren; I gotta get home. And for what it's worth, I'm…I'm really sorry about this whole thing."

The young man snagged her jacket from her. "Forget about it."

Dawn smiled, in spite of the situation. "Well, that's awfully nice of you."

"I meant the jacket." Warren examined it briefly and then threw it into a large restaurant-style waste basket.

"What?" Dawn's smile faded, and she stared at him blankly.

"That _thing_ was all around you. For all you know, it could have a tracking device on your jacket."

"It could've put tracking devices on _all_ my clothes!" She protested.

Warren smirked subtly and looked away, mumbling something that sounded like, "You asking me to throw those away too?"

Dawn's jaw fell open, forgetting she was trying to avoid awkward situations. "I…I…Warren, that's not like you." Wheeling towards the door of the office, she quickly trotted to the exit of the Paper Lantern. Warren followed her, however, and grabbed her un-bruised arm.

"You're not _walking_ home, you're not going _alone_, and you're _not_ going without a jacket."

Her stunned frame of mind faded, and she slipped back into the feelings of dizziness and nausea. "I…I guess you're right."

"I know I am."

Leading her outside, he turned out the lights and locked the door behind him. "Ever ridden a motorcycle before?" He asked, taking off his jacket and slipping her arms inside the sleeves.

Immediately, Dawn was immersed in a comforting, hot, and cozy feeling, and she hugged the leather to her. It bore the vague scents of Chinese food, leather, and a spicy cologne she had come to subconsciously associate with Warren.

"Ahhh…are you about to faint again?" Warren waved a hand in front of her face, and she snapped out of her reverie.

"Oh, um, motorcycle? No, no, I haven't."

He smirked subtly. "That's too bad."

He swung a leg over the seat and revved the engine, beckoning for her to get on the back. She slid onto it and hesitantly put her hands lightly on his shoulders. He groaned. "You're gonna get thrown off before we hit twenty miles per hour. Wrap your arms around my waist."

"…Warren, I don't - "

"Shut up and wrap!"

She wrapped. Sliding both her arms around his lower chest area, Dawn could feel Warren's heart beating rhythmically. Now, if only hers would stop leaping in her chest.

"Dawn, you're gonna have to squeeze tighter. You won't break me."

She flushed and nodded, and as she tightened her grip, she realized it was the first time he had addressed her by her name. With a final disgusted shake of his head, Warren roared down the alley and up the road.

Dawn was caught off guard by the speed of the wind hitting her face; she was so close to Warren that even his long hair seemed to be attacking her eyes and mouth. Determined to remedy the problem, she turned her head, took a deep breath, and moved her head forward, pressing her right temple to his back and hugging his body closer, effectively creating a human shield.

As she did so, she felt a shudder pass through Warren's body. Whether it was from cold - he was jacketless, after all -, the wind, or something else, Dawn didn't know. But it was definitely a shiver.

Minutes seemed like seconds as Dawn clung to Warren, and the ride was over much sooner than she would've preferred.

"Dawn, we're here. We've stopped." He did it again; called her by her first name. Not that she was complaining.

"We…have?" Dawn removed her face from Warren's back and took the opportunity to open her eyes and actually listen to the engine. It was idling; they definitely weren't moving anymore. Not to mention that the fact the houses and trees weren't speeding by them anymore was a dead giveaway. "Oh, sorry, Warren."

Neither of them moved.

"You can let go now."

"_Oh._"

She hastily released her grip and slid off the 'cycle.

"I'd ask you how you knew where I lived, but I don't think I'd like the answer, so I guess I'll catch you later." Dawn turned to flee up the sidewalk to her front door when he called out her name. She stopped, looking back at him.

Her eyes once again caught his, and she was reminded of their moment in the Paper Lantern. Her hand slipping into his own as he helped her out of the booth, his affectionate jab to her shoulder, his eyes radiating warmth…might he hug her goodbye this time?

Slowly, Warren dismounted his motorcycle and approached her, his eyes never once breaking the gaze with hers, just like in the Paper Lantern. He leaned down by her ear - she could feel his hair tickling her cheek - and whispered softly the reason for her requested halt.

"You've still got my jacket."

------

**_My favorite chapter of all the ones I've written! Hope you enjoyed reading itas much as I enjoyed writing it._**

**_I won't have another update until (probably) Sunday afternoon, but it'll be another fairly long one, which y'all deserve greatly. _**

**_Read! Relax! Review! Enjoy!_**

**_Corvaisis_**


	5. Fear Makes the Wolf Bigger than He Is

**Her War with Peace **

A/N: Disclaimer: None of the Sky High characters or locations are mine, naturally, but you knew that already. I do, however, own my original character, Dawn Odelle. I am also completely unaffiliated with the author, publisher, and/or editors of Count Leo Tolstoy's book "War and Peace". The book is referenced without direct permission.

**(The disclaimer will probably be sneaking into my story every five chapters or so, just to remind you that I'm not delusional and actually thinking I own the characters. Anyway. Enjoy.)**

**---**

**Chapter Five: Fear Makes the Wolf Bigger than He Is**

**_Quotations indicate words written in a letter from Julie to Mary: "Why cannot I now, as three months ago, draw fresh moral strength from your look, so gentle, calm, and penetrating, a look I loved so well and seem to see before me as I write?" _**

_**Having read thus far, Princess Mary sighed and glanced into the mirror which stood on her right. It reflected a weak, ungraceful figure and thin face. Her eyes, always sad, now looked with particular hopelessness at her reflection in the glass. 'She flatters me," thought the princess, turning away and continuing to read.**_

_**But Julie did not flatter her friend: the princess's eyes – large, deep, and luminous (it seemed as if at times there radiated from them shafts of warm light), were so beautiful that in spite of the plainness of her face they gave her an attraction more powerful than that of beauty. **_

_**But the princess never saw the beautiful expression of her own eyes – the look they had when she was not thinking of herself. As with everyone, her face assumed a forced, unnatural expression as soon as she looked in a glass.**_

**Count Leo Tolstoy's "War and Peace", pages 69 and 70 – brackets mine**

"So you really mean to tell me it would be a bad idea to go sit with him, even after last night." Dawn insisted, stabbing fruitlessly at a rolling cherry tomato in her salad.

"Honey, trust me on this. Tried it before, and he really likes being left alone; especially at school." Layla – and only Layla – had decided to hesitantly join Dawn for lunch the next day, and found that when conversing one-on-one, the young telekinetic was quite easy to talk to. Crowds, Dawn had previously explained, made her nervous, especially when she was new. It was just the way she was.

Dawn had explained the majority of what had happened at the Paper Lantern, being careful to leave out the romantic mood of some of the night. Layla's impression was that it was strictly Warren's way of trying to make Dawn feel a little more welcome, and that Dawn had simply accepted his attempt to reach out.

The latter had inconspicuously left out the ordeal of the tangling shadows that had knocked her out.

"So!" Layla tried to fill the silence by changing the subject. "How are you feeling about school?"

Dawn laughed, "It's my second day, Layla. I'm still feeling kind of excluded, but…" her eyes trailed over to Warren, who once again was focusing on his book, "I'm starting to feel a little more accepted."

"Hello?" Layla asked, waving a hand in front of Dawn's face. "I'm over - " She followed the telekinetic's gaze and grinned. "Aha, I see. Another one bites the dust?"

"Hmm?" Dawn's eyes were fixed on Warren now, and she was hardly listening to anything her new friend was saying.

"Never mind. But you have that look on your face so strongly that I'm thinking maybe you should actually give the "sitting with Warren" thing a shot."

_Now_ Dawn was paying attention. "I beg your pardon?"

Layla tried to hide a grin. "A long time ago, a wise man once told me that to let true love remain unspoken is the quickest route to a heavy heart. I think it still applies today."

"You think I love him."

"No." The young woman replied simply, stabbing at her salad that was identical to Dawn's.

The latter's eyebrows shot up. "You don't?"

"I _know_ you do."

"Man, I set myself up for that one." Dawn groaned, and shoved her chair back. "Here goes nothing, right?"

"Good luck!"

Dawn was hesitant as she approached Warren's table. "Hey, Warren…"

"No." His eyes didn't lift from his book, reminding her of the first conversation she had ever had with him.

Dawn sighed and tried a different angle. "How's your mom?"

"For cryin' out loud," Warren rolled his eyes and spoke quietly, as though he was embarrassed to be talking to her, "go sit with the hippie."

Encouraged that he was officially speaking to her now, she knelt down to try and catch his gaze with her own. "But I want to sit with you!" A low growl emitted from his throat, and his hands caught flame up to his wrists.

"_Go._" He snarled, finally looking up at her with a possessed glare.

Dawn's breath caught, and she stood quickly. "Meet me after school?" She asked, her voice not capable of containing her hopeful tone.

"I have work. Beat it."

She sighed and closed her eyes, the hiss of his extinguished flame calming her. "Please, Warren."

Receiving no response, the telekinetic peeked out at Warren, trying not to blanch with fear as she saw the same dark, haunted eyes glaring at her. "Oookay, I can take a hint. Sorry I bothered you."

"Just go."

Dawn wandered back to Layla, and the latter gave her a sympathetic glance. She vaguely heard words of comfort, but Dawn was becoming too dejected to understand them. It seemed as though Warren was a different person at school, and even with the explanation he had given her at the Paper Lantern, Dawn was confused about it.

She mentally re-arranged leafy frills of lettuce – beautifully green and fresh, thanks to Layla – to spell out "Why me?" on her plate.

"'Why you' what?" Layla asked, apparently puzzled.

Dawn looked up and sighed. "Why did I have to be the one who fell in love with him?"

"Wait, you can't possibly think you're the first one who's fallen for Warren, right?" The vegetarian gave her an incredulous stare before dousing one of her cherry tomatoes in ranch dressing and sticking it into her mouth.

Dawn blinked momentarily and mixed up her salad again, snatching the dressing from Layla and squirting it on her food. "Well, I guess not."

"I was a victim of his good looks too, y'know."

This was definitely starting to catch Dawn's attention. Of course, anything about Warren would've caught her attention, but this in particular. "You liked Warren Peace?"

Layla laughed, as though it was common knowledge. "That night I had in the Paper Lantern with him right before I was mad at Will? Warren had the cutest, sexiest look on his face when he lit the candle and we were talking. I know I told him I was going with him to Homecoming just because I wanted to get back at Will, but…" she grinned, and shrugged, "the truth is, I just couldn't resist an opportunity like that. What can a girl do?" She winked and stabbed at her salad again.

To Dawn, this was coming across as a little hard to believe. "But…so…when did you stop liking Warren and start liking Will again?"

"Once I figured out that not only did I not have a chance with Warren, but that I really did love Will, and I had more of a crush on Warren. I think Will and I were 'meant to be'." She made little quotation marks in the air with her fingers (or, at least, tried to – the spork she held in her hand kind of got in the way). "At least for now, anyway, or until Warren softens up."

"So…wait…you still like him?"

Layla raised her eyebrows and, as innocently as possible, ate the last piece of lettuce in her salad. "He's not as scary as he pretends to be."

Dawn blinked. "You say this after you watched him almost destroy the entire school cafeteria?"

"He was provoked!"

"Very encouraging." Dawn mumbled. "So now I just have to make sure I don't provoke him, which includes asking to sit with him, talking to him, bumping shoulders with him, and…anything else?"

"Talking about his dad." Layla reminded her solemnly.

"Yeah, that's the infamous one, but - " Dawn paused as her attention was caught elsewhere; part of the room had suddenly seemed to grow darker. "Do you see that?"

"See what?" As Layla turned around to glance where Dawn was looking, the darkness shifted across the floor to linger softly under one of the chairs across from Warren at his table. Since he was looking down at his food and book, he didn't appear to have seen anything.

"What _is_ that?" Layla wondered, her brow furrowing. "Somebody's playing around with us."

"Or not." Dawn whispered under her breath, her heart pounding as the blood in her veins began to run cold. Layla apparently hadn't heard her, but the telekinetic wouldn't care if she had.

The shadows.

The shadows.

The shadows.

---

**_A/N: Eesh, yes, I AM making you sit through another uneventful chapter, but it's necessary, especially to set up the next chapter. And, the next chapter is even longer than chapter four, so I hope you'll understand._**

**_If my predictions are correct, I should have the next one up tomorrow._**

**_Til then, devotedly yours,_**

**_Corvaisis_**


	6. Trial and Error

A/N - _**Alright, this one is actually longer than chapter four, and holds the first real action scene that I've done. I beg for your mercy if it's horrible and disuades you from reading any more of my chapters, but...one can only hope that, by some brief flash of grace, it'll be half-decent and you'll enjoy it.**_

---

**Chapter Six: Trial and Error **

**_Denisov first went to the barrier and announced:_**

"**_As the adve'sawies have wefused a weconcilliation, please pwoceed. Take youw pistols and at the word _thwee_ begin to advance."_**

"_**O-ne! T-wo! Thwee!" he shouted angrily and stepped aside. **_

_**The combatants advanced along the trodden tracks, nearer and nearer to one another, beginning to see one another through the mist. They had the right to fire when they liked as they approached the barrier. Dolokhov walked slowly without raising his pistol, looking intently with his bright sparkling blue eyes into his antagonist's face.**_

_**His mouth wore its usual semblance of a smile.**_

**Count Leo Tolstoy's "War and Peace", page 244**

Dawn's memory involuntarily flashed back to the alleyway outside the Paper Lantern when her world had collapsed in on her. _She could feel the silky smooth darkness trailing up her body as she fought to slice it away from her with her knife._

_The knife._

_Where was her knife? _

_It didn't matter now. She could still see the Paper Lantern as the strands of black mist wrapped around her throat, cutting off any strangled sobs for help that she might try to force out. _

Other students were beginning to notice the black shape, and many of them stood, giving it wary glances. Dawn's mind faintly registered Layla's worried voice asking her if she was alright as she sat stock-still in her chair, her eyes wide and afraid, staring at the shadowy mist creeping under Warren's chair.

_The mist._

_Warren had talked about a black mist taking her away. He said it took something on the ground; it must have taken the knife._

_But that didn't matter either. Darkness shrouded the edges of her vision before completely stealing away her sight. No light invaded the shadow._

_No light._

Dawn let out a choked gasp of horror as she grabbed Layla's wrist in a vice-like grip, her breathing shallow, her heart beating wildly, and her vision and perception of sound completely blackened out.

At least two minutes passed before Dawn was able to calm herself and regain her awareness of what was going on around her. Most rational thought of which she was capable had been thrown to the ground, but her increased mental strength now gave her an edge over this new kind of fear.

The doors to the cafeteria had been shut and locked - by the intruder, Dawn supposed, to contain exit and entry. Layla's wrist was still captured in her grasp, but the red-head was standing and trying as hard as she could to free herself, yelling something about rescuing Warren.

As the telekinetic looked up, she saw that the shadow had increased in size and had now wrapped itself fully around Warren and several other individuals. As filmy tendrils reached out for more, students shrieked and backed away with it. Those who dared to try and fight it were encased in the dark vapor.

As one hero stood in front of all the rest, she reached out hesitantly to try and touch it. A wisp of mist wrapped around her finger, and the girl examined it, intrigued, before she suddenly looked as though she was being choked. The wisp released her while she dropped to her knees and clutched at her throat before she apparently regained her voice and started to scream. At this point, the wisp reached back for her hand and pulled her into the body of darkness.

Almost everyone enclosed in the shadows was either screaming with uncontrolled fear, yelling gibberish mixed with phrases like '_no light_' and '_total darkness_', or they were unconscious. The only one not doing any of these was Warren, and he was attempting to light himself on fire. As soon as his hands would light, the flame was extinguished. Between attempts at lighting himself, his eyes would flick around, and at one point they caught Dawn's.

Fear.

It was an emotion she had never seen Warren Peace emit, and it terrified her. If he had a reason to be afraid, it seemed they were doomed. It suddenly and very abruptly hit Dawn that her hands were out in front of her and she was subconsciously mentally trying to force the shadow away from Warren's body. It appeared to be working since his flames were lasting longer, but it was taking an extreme effort on her part.

"Get out of here!" Warren's voice was muffled by the darkness, and the expression on his face told Dawn that it physically pained him to speak. "Don't try to be a hero!" He strained against the shadows, momentarily giving up his fight for flame.

"I won't leave you!" Dawn screamed, her presence of mind returning as she again tried to push the confining mist away from Warren. This time, the shadows wavered a little bit before being stretched away from him, giving the pyrokinetic a chance to escape.

Running to Dawn, Warren whipped around and blew a fireball at the massive shape. The fire hit its target, and said target shrunk considerably, freeing many students. As soon as they were released, the conscious students stopped screaming and drug their unconscious friends to safety.

"I thought you said the last time you threw fire at it, it ran away!" Dawn yelled over the raucous of fire-throwing and screaming, her hands again thrown in front of her defensively. "It did," Warren yelled back, "but it's apparently not going to run again."

The pyrokinetic's dark eyes flashed as he started to circle his enemy. The hunted had become the hunter; the preyed-upon now focusing in on his prey. Warren stepped away from it, then forward, causing it to shrink back as he charged and threw another fireball in the blink of an eye. Its concentration wavered and broke as the flames hissed and crackled on it, causing the mists to release the remaining individuals.

Dawn stood back, trying not to get in the way. The cafeteria had now become dangerously silent; with everyone liberated, the screams had vanished. Now the only sounds were Warren's quiet, purposeful footsteps, and the silky murmur of shadow traveling across linoleum.

Suddenly, the flame-thrower stood his ground and roared, both arms and his upper back completely igniting in his fury. The darkness lifted itself from the ground and created a huge churning pillar of what looked like a black cloud that reached to the ceiling of the cafeteria.

"They're both bluffing or they're both really, really serious about this." Dawn whispered to Layla, concern and fear twisted into her voice. The red-head could only nod as she watched the ongoing scene.

"I hate not being able to do anything!" Dawn muttered, evidently making up her mind about something. She stepped up beside Warren and the pillar and pulled with her mind as hard as she could. Simultaneously, Warren charged an enormous inferno and sent it blowing towards the towering darkness.

This time, it was prepared. As Dawn's mental energy pulled at it and tried to toss it off-balance, it transferred the energy to make a gaping hole in the middle of it. The young pyrokinetic's flame passed right through.

Dawn and Warren swore concurrently as their minds raced to think of something. To their surprise, it wasn't either of them who finally did think of their next solution.

A burst of lightning broke through the top of the cafeteria, sending roof tiles everywhere as it pierced through the pillar of darkness. It split down the middle, trying to work with the electricity, but it was quickly met with a flurry of fireballs from Warren, who was now trying to think on his feet.

As Dawn spotted a small teenage girl on the far side of the room, she realized the girl must be controlling the weather. They smiled at each other, in spite of the circumstances, and then an idea struck Dawn, not unlike the way the lightning had struck the pillar.

"Take my hand!" She yelled to Warren, holding out her slender right hand.

He paused his fireball assault towards the now-flattened shadows to glare at Dawn before he rolled his eyes and snorted.

"I'm not trying to be romantic; I swear! Just trust me, this once?" She asked, waving her extended hand emphatically.

"What are you going to do?"

"I don't have time to explain; shut up and grab my hand!"

He made up his mind very quickly and gripped her hand with his. Dawn attempted not to jerk back, since his grasp was like fire due to its recent activity of flame-throwing. Not that the heat was unwelcome, but it startled her. In fact, now that she thought about it, the heat took her back to the warmth of the Paper Lantern and his hands on her shoulders as she -

"_Odelle!_" Warren yelled her last name to regain her attention, indicating she should do whatever she planned on doing.

"Right, right!" She yelled back, concentrating hard. "'Flame on', or whatever you do!"

He paused and looked at their hands. "I'm going to hurt you."

"Shut up and ignite yourself!"

His arms lit up to his shoulders as he set himself on fire. His left hand and her right suddenly became a flamethrower of sorts, expelling a steady stream of fire - of which Warren was not normally capable - into the shifting shadows that were apparently trying to re-form into a pillar. Being hosed by the fire apparently discouraged the being enough that it shifted into a hazy human before catching Dawn's eye.

The shape was almost certainly a male form, and it appeared to be made out of a solid, shadow-like material. If she hadn't been so afraid of it, Dawn might have reached out to touch it. In truth, there was nothing very frightening about it at all when it was in a human shape…except the eyes. And the eyes were what were locking onto Dawn.

They were onyx and cold, even lifeless. The stare they gave her was blank, showing no emotion or humanity at all. However, she felt herself being drawn to them. Her left hand reached out towards it, since her right was still encased in Warren's, and the creature reached back towards her. Shadowy fingertip met human fingertip, and Dawn felt her throat being constricted by that unknown force before she was yanked forcibly back by Warren.

"Snap out of it!"

She lowered her head to clear her windpipe again, her hand possessively staying in Warren's. However, Dawn barely lifted her eyes in time to see the shadowy organism leap out of the farthest window and disappear to the clouds below.

"Maybe he's dead?" A boy piped up from beside the window.

"No." Warren responded bluntly. "He wouldn't have done it if he wouldn't be able to survive; that won't be the last we see of him."

"Stop referring to 'it' as a 'him'." Dawn grumbled, her grip on Warren's hand releasing. Looking down at her, he sat in one of the few chairs still standing before gesturing for her to sit across from him.

"Explain what just happened, you know, with the stream of fire."

She finally released his hand and propped up her elbows on the table. "I'm a telekinetic, remember? I moved the oxygen away from the direct proximity of my hand so you wouldn't burn me, first; as you know, fire needs oxygen to stay alive. Then I had to decide how exactly you create the fire and what I could do to work my - "

"Cut to the chase."

"Right. I tapped into whatever channel you use to, in a sense, open or close the figurative valve that allows you to release the fire. In doing so, I mentally propped the valve open so the fire just kept coming and coming." She elaborated, trying to explain what she herself didn't exactly understand.

Warren quirked an eyebrow before shaking his head. "Whatever; as long as it worked."

"So…" Dawn shifted nervously in her seat, and she started to feel awkward, like she had in the Paper Lantern. Suddenly, though, that reminded her.

"Paper Lantern, after school?" She asked quietly, raising her eyebrows hopefully.

Warren rolled his eyes and fought a smile. "I suspect we'll be getting out early today. But yeah, fine; when Ron drops me off back home, I'll take you with me, and I'll give you a ride."

"How long can you spare before you have to go work?"

The pyrokinetic stood and shouldered his located pack before walking away from the table, calling back to her. "How long do you need me?"

---

A/N - **_Well, there it is! My lovely, or not so lovely, sixth chapter. _**

**_Critique and suggestions are always welcome!_**

**_Devotedly yours,_**

**_Corvaisis_**


	7. Hidden in Plain Sight

**Chapter Seven: Hidden in Plain Sight**

**_To Boris, Julie was particularly gracious; she regretted his early disillusionment with life, offered him such consolation of friendship as she, who had herself suffered so much, could render, and showed him her album. Boris sketched two trees in the album, and wrote: 'Rustic trees, your dark branches shed gloom and melancholy upon me.' _**

_**On another page he drew a tomb, and wrote: **_

'_**La mort es secourable et la mort est tranquille.  
**__**Ah! contre les douleurs il n'y a pas d'autre asile.'**_

_**Translation: Death is helpful and death is silent.  
**__**Ah! against such pains there is no other asylum.**_

_**Julie said this was charming.**_

'_**There is something so enchanting in the smile of melancholy,' she said to Boris, repeating word for word a passage she had copied from a book. 'It is a ray of light in the darkness, a shade between sadness and despair, showing the possibility of consolation.' **_

**Count Leo Tolstoy's "War and Peace", page 434 – brackets and translation mine**

"I brought you something." Dawn grinned at Warren as she examined his black motorcycle. Ron had just dropped them off at the Peace residence and Dawn was eager to give her present to Warren. She had gotten it that morning before school but was hesitant to produce it, since she didn't know how it would come across.

Warren raised an eyebrow, running a hand fondly over the leather seat. "Let's see it."

Digging around through her bag, the telekinetic retrieved a can of orange paint and a large flame stencil, custom made for the model of motorcycle that Warren owned. "I just thought…you know, flames on the front might spice it up a little bit." She shrugged and handed them over.

To her surprise, he grinned and tested the fit of the stencil. "It's perfect. I'll try it out later tonight, but we should really get going."

At a nod from Dawn, Warren started to slide onto the seat of the motorcycle, but she stopped him. "Listen, I was wondering something…" She made a request and he tried not to laugh, but finally he relented and said yes.

The next thing she knew, Dawn was holding onto twin handlebars, dangerously racing and steering the motorcycle down the road to the Paper Lantern. Warren sat behind her, but instead of slipping his arms around her waist, he had his hands positioned on her arms to help guide her.

"This is illegal, you know." He called up to her, hoping she could hear him over the wind.

She turned her head slightly before responding, "I've been driving cars illegally since I was twelve; this can't be much harder. Not to mention you don't exactly seem like the kind of person who strictly follows the letter of the law, if you'll excuse me for saying so."

Dawn felt him shake with laughter, but he said nothing as they pulled around in front of the Paper Lantern.

"Go on in; I'll join you as soon as I park this in the warehouse out back." Before she had a chance to reply, he gently but firmly assisted her in getting off, and the engine roared as he wheeled around behind the restaurant.

A precariously balanced bell rang loudly as Dawn opened the door to the Paper Lantern, and she immediately smiled after hearing the familiar Chinese music playing softly in the background. "Lovely place to work," she sighed happily, and slid into a booth to wait for Warren.

"Can I get you something?" An attractive young Oriental woman stepped up to the table with a pad of paper gently resting in her hand.

"Oh, no, thank you; I'm waiting for Warren." The pyrokinetic's name slipped easily between Dawn's lips, and the lady grinned.

"Has Warren finally got himself a girlfriend?"

Dawn blushed profusely and opened her mouth to reply when she was cut off. "No, she's not my girlfriend; she's a friend from school. Mind your own business, Jai Li."

Jai Li shrugged, winked at Dawn, and gestured for Warren to sit down across from the aforementioned friend. "So what can I get you two?"

"Can we have a minute to think about it?" Warren asked, sending her a glance that implied she should go away and let them talk.

"Sure, sure." She waved a hand dismissively and wandered off to go fold more napkins.

Dawn smiled across at Warren and was surprised to see him smile back at her. "So, I, ah…who runs the Paper Lantern while you're at school?"

"Mom got released early from the hospital; she's been working it with Jai Li's help." He responded, apparently choosing his words carefully so he wouldn't have to say more than he was required to say.

"Oh, okay." Silence was present once more in their conversation, but Dawn was able to get by for a few minutes by asking him what was good on the menu and finally ordering egg rolls for them to share. She was amazed at how laid back Warren had once again become, after she recalled their abrupt and rather mean conversation at school.

"That thing that was at the school today," Warren suddenly commented, "would've killed me if you hadn't intervened. So thanks."

Dawn was momentarily speechless. "I didn't…I didn't think you thanked people for things." It wasn't exactly what she had meant to say, but it was the truth.

A pained expression flitted across Warren's face, and he lowered his head slightly. "Have I become _that_ inhuman to you?"

Dawn immediately regretted her words, and she reached across the table to take Warren's hands in her own. They were as hot as they had been in the cafeteria, but the pyrokinetic's soulful dark eyes were completely distracting her from the warmth of his hands. "You're not inhuman, Warren. You're just introverted, and that gives people the wrong impression, and..." she sighed, "I should've known better. I'm so sorry, Warren."

His gaze was a troubled one, as usual, but Dawn could now see sorrow in his expression.

"It's hard to be lonely," he muttered, squeezing her hands before releasing them, "people just can't learn." Warren lit one of his hands and examined it. "I'm lucky I was given fire. Fire inspires fear, and when you're feared, people don't try to pick on you for being alone."

"Sometimes you're hard to warm up to, though." Dawn replied, quickly assuring him that no pun was intended.

"Being mean makes it harder for people to mock you." Warren responded simply, extinguishing his flame with a sizzling hiss. "But it has its pros and cons. People don't like me."

"Warren, I…" Dawn stopped short. Was she really about to tell Warren Peace that she had a crush on him?

"…You what?" Warren raised an eyebrow and waved a hand, indicating she needed to finish her sentence.

"I like you." She completed, "I like you a lot. In fact, some people, um," she faltered and started to hesitantly play with her "True Love Waits" ring again, "some people might call it a little more than just liking you."

There. Dawn had finally admitted it, and she looked up hopefully, wondering if he would be romantic and kiss her, or hug her, or profess feelings of the same fashion. Something moved in her peripheral vision, and she noticed Jai Li hovering just over in the corner with a plate of egg rolls, trying to wait for an opportune moment to slip in.

"You like me." Warren repeated, as if he couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"Yeah, ah, is…is that a problem?" Dawn blinked; she had expected a larger reaction.

"I don't do relationships."

The pyrokinetic stood abruptly, standing up out of the booth. He met her gaze and shook his head before brushing his hair back over his shoulder and walking out of the Paper Lantern. The bell above the door clinked cheerfully, but Dawn was too taken aback to hear it.

"Here are your egg rolls, sweet heart." Jai Li said softly, setting the plate in front of Dawn. "Do you want me to help you finish them?" She asked gently, her brown eyes warm and comforting.

Almost as warm and comforting as Warren's had been.

Dawn nodded dejectedly and swallowed hard. "I thought maybe he'd understand, you know? I don't need to be in a relationship with him, I just wanted to be his friend and let him know I liked him, and it all turned out wrong, and now he'll never want to have anything to do with me, and - "

Before she could continue, Jai Li spoke words of consolation to her and pushed an egg roll in her general direction. Dawn realized she was starving and gladly devoured it, trying to hide the tears that had sprung to her eyes. She tried to explain further to the Asian waitress, but her words were periodically marked by hiccupping sobs, and it made the explanation difficult to understand.

Cloth napkins and wads of Kleenex were soothingly given to her, but it was some time before Dawn finally calmed down again. "I didn't need him to be my boyfriend," She whispered to Jai Li, awkwardly playing with, staring at, and ripping up a Kleenex in her lap, "I just needed him to be my friend."

Pyrokinetics were awfully good at sneaking around restaurants and through back doors to listen to the remainders of conversations. If Dawn's eyes had wandered to the open window of the kitchen to her right, they would have noticed dark, flaming eyes watching her, and listening ears softly shielded with strands of black hair.

"I just needed him to be my friend."

------

**_A/N: Eesh! Yes, this was a short chapter for such a long wait, and for that I apologize. I'm working as fast as I can, with school and work and whatnot bearing down heavily on me. I ask for your patience and your reviews; thank you kindly!_**

**_Corvaisis_**


	8. Not All Those who Wander are Lost

**Chapter Eight: Not All those who Wander are Lost**

"**_It's like this," Pierre went on, with an obvious effort to control himself and speak coherently. "I don't know when I first began to love her. But I have loved her, and her alone, all my life – I love her so that I cannot imagine life without her. I cannot ask for her hand at present, but the thought that perhaps…she might someday become my wife and that I may be missing the chance to – the chance – is awful. Tell me, can I hope? Tell me, what shall I do? Dear Princess!" he added, after a momentary pause, touching her hand when she did not reply._**

"_**I am thinking now of what you have told me," said Princess Marya. "This is what I have to say. You are right that to speak to her now of love…"**_

_**Marya stopped. She was about to say that to speak of love was impossible, but she stopped because she had seen by the sudden change in Natasha in the last two days that not only would her friend not be upset if Pierre spoke of his love, but that it was the very thing she most desired.**_

**Count Leo Tolstoy's "War and Peace", page 1342**

Dawn walked home that day after the Paper Lantern, and was relieved to note that nothing attacked her on her way. The next few days at school were hard, and she took care to avoid Warren however she could. She didn't know if she could handle another confrontation.

She shoved her books up in her locker on Tuesday at noon and prepared herself for another lunch during which she could evade Warren.

"Dawn! What's up?" The voice of Ethan chirped behind her, and she turned around glumly.

"Oh, hey Popsicle." She really wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone right now, least of all the cheerful Ethan.

"Where are you going?"

"Lunch."

"I'll come with you."

Dawn forced herself to be nice; she knew he had good intentions and that she was acting like…well, like Warren. And that was the one person she didn't want to be thinking about.

The two of them made their way into the cafeteria, with Ethan chattering all the way. Dawn smiled and nodded at different intervals of conversation, and when he started laughing, she would laugh too; her mind was elsewhere.

"Hey, you want to hear a joke?" Ethan piped, grinning.

Dawn smiled back at him and nodded, totally oblivious to what he was saying.

"Okay, well, there's this guy who goes into a school cafeteria, and," Ethan started to snicker, since he already knew the punch line. However, to Dawn, who wasn't listening to the joke, it seemed like he'd finished it.

"Hahaha!" She laughed, grabbing a sandwich and sitting down at a table.

"…I didn't get to the joke part of the joke." He waved his hand in front of her face, "Earth to Dawn; Earth to Dawn!"

Her head snapped up as she saw he was onto her ruse. She wilted visibly. "I'm sorry, Ethan. I wasn't listening. What were you saying?"

He slid across from her and shook his head. "Never mind. But hey, I had a question."

Dawn nodded and took a bite, muttering, "Yeah?" around the sandwich.

"Well, I was thinking about - " he paused. "You're listening this time, right?" She blushed and nodded, so he went on.

"Do you have a date for Homecoming?"

Dawn shook her head, responding, "I'm not going," before taking another large bite of her sandwich and mumbling, "You know, this cafeteria food isn't half-bad."

Ethan wrapped his fingers around his burrito and shrugged. "Why aren't you going?"

"One," Dawn held up her sandwich and took a bite, chewing it and swallowing before she continued, "no one has asked me. Two," she took another bite and completed the mastication of the portion of food, "most people have already been asked. And three," Dawn finally put the remainder of her sandwich back on her plate and sighed, "the one guy I'd go with already told me no."

Ethan's eyebrows shot up. "You asked Warren Peace to Homecoming?"

"_Crap!_ Is it _that_ obvious I was thinking about him?" Dawn put a hand to her forehead and sighed. "I didn't exactly ask him, but trust me; he wouldn't go with me after what happened last night. But forget that; do you have a date for Homecoming?"

Ethan grinned shyly and waved his burrito dismissively through the air. "Yeah, well, you know, it was my duty to ask a girl, and nobody had asked her, so I just couldn't pass it up."

Dawn laughed gleefully and drilled the information out of her friend, cheering him on about it. It got her mind off of Warren, and she was glad for the distraction.

However, during her conversation, she glanced over to the pyrokinetic's table and was disappointed to see that his eyes were, as usual, fixed on his book. Her inner Hollywood had insisted she would find him staring soulfully after her, but such was not the case.

As she and Ethan finished lunch, they stood and mingled with the rest of the group leaving the cafeteria.

"Going to Homecoming with Popsicle?" A deep voice murmured from behind Dawn.

She whipped around and was almost trampled by the flow of people, so she backed up until she was out the door and into the hall. "No, Warren; I'm not going to Homecoming with Ethan."

He cocked an eyebrow very slightly and crossed his arms. "I heard you two talking about it."

"I didn't know you had a tendency to eavesdrop." Dawn crossed her arms back at him and glared defiantly. She had been crushed at the Paper Lantern and now her hackles had risen in self defense.

Warren rolled his eyes, grabbed Dawn's wrist, and pulled her around the corner where they could talk privately. "Dawn, I - "

"I know you 'don't do relationships', Warren, but I'm not asking for a relationship! I'm just asking for you to - "

"You're asking for me to be your friend." He hissed, emphatically finishing her sentence. She looked surprised, and he shrugged nonchalantly, releasing her wrist. "You said it yourself. I have a tendency to eavesdrop."

Dawn blinked, and her rigid body relaxed. "Oh. So you, um, you saw me…"

"Cry?" Warren almost said it mockingly, but he started to smile.

"Yeah, that." She looked down and scuffed at the floor with her shoe.

"Yeah, I saw you cry, but what I really saw was you overreacting." He punched her in the shoulder like he had done several nights ago at the Paper Lantern. "I told you I didn't do relationships, not that I wouldn't be your friend. If you didn't want me to be your boyfriend, you shouldn't have broken down like that."

"But Warren, I didn't…" Dawn paused and mused over this a moment. "Oh, I see your point. So I guess an apology is in order?"

"Yeah, I'd think so." Warren uncrossed his arms and his slight smile grew wider.

"Well then, I'm really, really sorry - " Dawn was cut off as the pyrokinetic shook his head.

"No, I meant from me. I'm your friend, and I'll apologize for stuff I do to hurt you; just don't call me inhuman this time, okay?" His dark eyes took on the look that Dawn associated with a hero who was about to kiss his female protagonist in a movie, but she knew in the back of her mind that there was no way Warren Peace was about to kiss her. She was, however, caught off guard when he leaned down and embraced her.

Dawn coughed in surprise, but then grinned, wrapping her arms around his back. "I thought you didn't do relationships." She whispered to him, about to start enjoying the extreme heat radiating from him. Suddenly, he released her. "Just don't take that the wrong way." He breathed in her ear and walked off, practically vanishing into the hallway.

"Don't take what the wrong way; the shortness of the hug or the hug itself?" Dawn muttered, perturbed and slightly confused.

But as she walked down the hall to her next class, she had to refrain from skipping with delight. She knew she would be late to Mr. Boy's sidecar basics class – she was still only a sidekick, after all – but she didn't care. Warren Peace had hugged her.

---

**_A/N: There we go; finally another chapter! I hope you're enjoying so far. The next chapter should bring into light a little more about our villian of the story, so know that I'm working hard on making this the very best that I can._**

**_Steven Strait's new movie "Undiscovered" isn't showing at our theater, and may never actually show there; isn't that sad? I'm pondering sending a complaint to the manager. Depriving me of the hotness! I'm going to go sulk in a corner now and write._**

**_Until next time!_**

**_Corvaisis_**


	9. Rain, Rain, Go Away

**Chapter Nine: Rain, Rain, Go Away**

**_At the visitors' request, the young people sang "The Fountain", a quartet with which everyone was delighted. Then Nikolai sang a song that he had just learned._**

"_**On a lovely night by the moon's fair glow,  
**__**What ecstasy to know  
**__**That someone in this world there'll be  
**__**Who is thinking only of thee!  
**__**And o'er the strings of her golden lyre  
**__**Weave fingers that never tire,  
**__**Spinning a rapturous melody,  
**__**That is calling only to thee, to thee!  
**__**But when paradise at last shall dawn,  
**__**Thy friend, alas, will be gone!"**_

**Count Leo Tolstoy's "War and Peace", page 102**

"It wasn't her." An oily voice slipped through the air emotionlessly, entwining itself into the ear of the listener. "The identity was a falsified match."

"Someone set us up." Another voice growled, and the sound of a fist slamming to the table rose above all else.

Two individuals sat in a dark room, a rectangular wooden table the only thing separating the duo. The only light came from a bulb attached to a wire that was hanging from the ceiling; it was far too long and reached perilously close to the top of the table. This same table was ornamented only by one chair and one frothing mug of cheap beer. The individual seated in the chair was clad in a torn suit, and he slouched down as if in a drunken stupor of misery. His voice, however, was deep and scathing; completely contrary to his appearance.

The individual standing on the other side of the table, however, was much more formidable when one looked upon him. He seemed to be made entirely of dark mist, and parts of his body seemed to be attempting to stretch out to meld with the shadows behind him. The light bulb that hung so close to the table illuminated his onyx eyes, giving him a frighteningly emotionless gaze that fell so steadily on the man across from him. It was the shadowy man who had first spoken.

"We took her fingerprint from her defense armament she used originally to attack me and cross referenced it with the one given to us, as well as cross referencing her description with the one that we obtained. The descriptions matched perfectly; the fingerprint didn't. Someone is attempting to deliver the woman into our custody in place of the individual we are seeking." The shadow's voice slipped through the air like the knife he had previously confiscated from Dawn.

"Have you located our true target?" The air around the seated man briefly smelled his alcohol before he took a drink of his beer, but he coughed on the mouthful as he observed the shadow curtly nod.

"We have indeed located him."

"Him? The description provided clear details of a female, not a male."

The shadow's emotionless tone turned to one of an adult trying to explain a simple concept to a child. "As I previously stated, our information was faulty. Clearly our supplier did not expect us to be provided with a clear, traceable fingerprint of our so-called target. I assure you, our real target is most definitely male."

The seated man waved his beer impatiently; alcohol always loosened his tongue and made him more irritable. "So? And? Therefore? Who _is_ our target?"

"As you may know," the dark being was melting away into the shadows behind him, indicating his interaction with the opposite individual was soon to be closed, "we have received a verified scrap of DNA from one of our more…reliable sources. On a whim, I scanned the DNA of one of the students I briefly captured at Sky High. It was a perfect match with our sample."

This was really beginning to irritate the almost-drunken dealer. "Make your point."

"It's a pyrokinetic we're looking for; not a telekinetic. And he's Barron Battle's son."

-----

"When in a sidecar, be sure to keep your hands, feet, possible capes, and all miscellaneous accessories _inside_ the vehicle. I know some of you may have heard of Stratosphere, the Hero Support for Vortex, who was ripped out of her sidecar because her scarf caught in a tree."

Mr. Boy chuckled nervously, uneasily enunciating the phrase 'caught in a tree'.

Dawn twirled a strand of her dark blonde hair and reviewed the day's events. It hadn't been quite as action packed as her first few days at Sky High, but it had certainly been enjoyable. Getting a hug from Warren trumped battling a giant tower of darkness any day.

"Miss Odelle, would you please turn your attention back to the class?" Mr. Boy's voice rang dimly in her ears, and she jerked her head back up.

"Right, sorry; Stratosphere, Vortex, scarf." She tried not to turn red at being caught daydreaming.

"Oh, um, yes. Very good." His right eye twitched involuntarily and he looked back to the chalkboard.

"So as I was saying…" Mr. Boy's voice droned on, and Dawn once again removed her attention span from his teaching to her daydreaming.

The classroom had now again resumed its typical status. Dawn was twirling her hair and her thoughts were on Warren, the rest of the class was either zoned out, intently focusing on the lesson, or asleep, and Mr. Boy was oblivious to anyone not paying attention.

Dawn's jade hued eyes traveled to the window. The heavens had opened, and droplets were now trailing down the glass, creating diminutive rivulets of water.

_Great,_ she griped to herself, _now it's raining. That'll be fun._

Normally the telekinetic loved the occasional shower of rain. Dancing around in it had been a favorite pastime of hers when she was smaller, but she rarely found time to do it anymore. Perhaps her currently confined status was part of the reason she resented the torrential downfall, but whatever it was, it seemed to be ruining her good mood.

During the rest of the class, she reasoned to herself that Warren had only hugged her because he knew she wanted a hug, and he felt bad about having upset her. As much as she wanted to think differently, her logical side won over the Hollywood dreamer side yet again.

The last bell finally rang, indicating the end of school. Dawn got her books together and walked out into the hall, mingling with the other classes. This was one of the few times of day that heroes and sidekicks were together, but after her inner 'discussion' about Warren's hug motives, it didn't seem to give Dawn the joy that it usually did.

"I think I need another hug." She grumbled, shifting her pack on her back.

Before she knew it, two arms were wrapped around her from behind. She had hoped to feel the warm leather jacket, smell the gentle spices of Warren's cologne, and hear his voice murmuring in her ear, but instead, she saw that it was Layla.

"There; you're hugged," She chirped, "why the long face?"

Dawn shrugged and hugged her backpack straps closer; the cold air must have been wafting in from outside, and the rain wasn't helping.

"It's no big deal, really. Just feeling hug deprived, you know?"

Layla nodded and threw her arm around the other girl's shoulders, walking with her to the outside. "I know the feeling. Back with Will and all, I never really did know what to do when I was feeling that way! I felt awkward when I hugged him, like it would make a huge deal if I hugged him too long or too short, and…"

Dawn started to count the floor tiles she stepped over, zoning out of the conversation as she had a tendency to do.

_36, 37, 38, hey, two at a time! 40, 42, 44, 46…_

"Dawn, that's the mad science lab. I don't think we were going to visit Medulla."

The telekinetic snapped out of her reverie and nodded nonchalantly. "Right, right. Outside we go."

Once the two had exited the building, they were pleased to note that the weather-controlling female who had assisted Dawn and Warren in the cafeteria had now cleared up the rain specifically over Sky High. Anyone going to the bus was safe, but as soon as Ron got over the edge, the pattering tap of precipitation was unmistakably audible.

The stop nearest to Dawn's house was gloomy. The rain had become heavier and was now difficult to see through, and though the day was young – Dawn's watch read four thirty – the sky had become black with storm clouds.

"See you tomorrow, kid." Ron cheerfully mock-saluted a farewell as Dawn got off alone. She hated being the only one who exited at that stop, especially after her incident with the shadow, but it couldn't be helped.

"See you, Ron." She called, stepping blithely down the steps of the bus. The doors snapped shut behind her, and she found herself being drenched with rain.

"Wait," she muttered to herself, "if I can…why can't I…" She resisted the urge to kick herself as she mentally parted the raindrops above her. As soon as they got about a foot above her head, she used her telekinetic ability to swipe them to the sides of her, effectively keeping them off her body. "You've really got to get used to being able to do that, Dawn."

She found herself talking out loud, albeit under her breath, but her words, coupled with the pouring rain, silenced the footsteps that approached quickly behind her.

---

**_A/N: Yes! There, finally I got it done. I was actually considering only giving you the conversation between the villians, but then I realized that wouldn't be very fair, so there you have it. The whole of chapter nine!_**

**_:runs away to go and write more:_**

**_Corvaisis_**


	10. Know Your Enemy

**_AN: The poppy disclaimer appears once again! Pop! POP!_**

**_Her War with Peace _**

_Disclaimer: None of the Sky High characters or locations are mine, naturally, but you knew that already. I do, however, own my original character, Dawn Odelle. I am also completely unaffiliated with the author, publisher, and/or editors of Count Leo Tolstoy's book "War and Peace". The book is referenced without direct permission._

_**Heh. I love recycling that.**_

_---_

**Chapter Ten: Know Your Enemy**

"_**Dear and precious friend,**_

**_Your letter of the thirteenth gave me great joy. So you still love me, my poetic Julie. Separation, of which you speak so ill, does not seem to have had its customary effect on you. You complain of absence – what then should I say if I _dared_ to complain, I who am deprived of all who are dear to me? Ah, if we had not the consolation of religion, life would be very sad._**

_**Why do you suppose I should look severely on your fondness for that young man? In these matters I am hard on no one but myself. I understand such feelings for others, and if I cannot approve of them, never having experienced them, neither do I condemn them. Only it seems to me that Christian love, love of one's neighbor, love of one's enemy, is worthier, sweeter, and finer than the feelings inspired by the beautiful eyes of a young man in a poetic and loving girl like yourself." **_

**Count Leo Tolstoy's "War and Peace", page 129**

Dawn yelled a stream of surprised gibberish mixed with expletives as a hand landed on her shoulder and turned her around. She slapped her hand against her pocket, possessively searching for her knife before she remembered she didn't have it anymore.

"Hey, you need to - "

The telekinetic recognized the voice as a male one, but whatever her attacker was going to say was cut off abruptly as the breath was knocked out of him. She had spun sideways and shoved her elbow forward to catch him in the solar plexus, and he bent over slightly. Reflexively, she took advantage of his position to slam her knee into his groin, and it bent him double.

"Get away from me!" She yelled, backing up the sidewalk, her rain-evasive telekinetic maneuvers momentarily forgotten. "I have a knife!" She knew it wasn't true, but she hoped he didn't.

"Quit…" The man coughed in his pained state, "Quit fooling yourself, woman. I know you don't have a knife."

The rain blocked her vision significantly, but she knew it wasn't the shadow that was attacking her; she was dealing with flesh and blood.

"You…how do you know that? You're working with the shadow, aren't you!" She yelled, stepping forward again and slamming the heel of her hand into the back of his neck. The man yelped and finally sank to his knees. Whoever he was, he was a tough one.

"No, Dawn; I'm not working with the shadow."

Dawn.

"How do you know my name?" She gulped, her eyes growing wider and her voice growing softer. She peered down through the rain and observed long, black hair obscuring the face of her attacker. He was finally able to lift a hand from protecting his injured crotch and brush back the hair, and a dyed red streak was now visible.

"Oh my gosh, Warren; I'm so sorry!" Dawn was horrified, and she knelt down beside him. "I didn't…why did you attack me?"

Warren experimentally stood, testing his legs and stretching his neck. "Who attacked who? I was _going_ to tell you that you shouldn't be walking alone in the rain, but the moment I touched you, you elbowed me."

He did _not_ sound like a happy camper.

Dawn cringed and put a hand on his chest, carefully poking his solar plexus. He flinched and swatted her hand away.

"Stop that; it's still sore! Where did you learn to do that kind of stuff, anyway?"

She shrugged and batted water from her eyes. "I took martial arts a long time ago, but I would've expected you to be able to beat me either way, so I'm kind of surprised."

"I was trying not to hurt you." Warren said bluntly, tucking his hair behind his ears. "Now let's get out of this rain; it's going to start hailing soon."

"How can you tell?"

He waved a hand at the weather, "See for yourself."

Unfortunately, the pyrokinetic was right. The weather was becoming increasingly colder, and already small, pea-sized balls of hail were beginning to drop.

"We need to find some shelter." Warren rumbled, taking off his jacket and holding it over Dawn's head, not flinching as balls of hail pierced through his shirt and began cutting through his skin.

"No, no, it's okay; I can keep it off of us, see?" She insisted, trying once more to use her telekinetic powers to sweep the hail to the side.

Warren cocked his eyebrow at Dawn; her powers didn't seem to be working. Her mental strength was fading fast, though she didn't know if it was because she was so distracted from being so close to Warren, or if she just couldn't generate a field wide enough to shelter both of them.

"Ah…what do you say we find some shelter?" She asked innocently, parroting back his previous remarks.

"Right."

Warren draped his jacket over Dawn's head, and she could've sworn she'd seen the beginning of a quirky smile on his face, but her vision was already darkened by the hail, so it must've been an illusion.

A pub down an obscured alleyway flickered with malfunctioning light. The "Closed" sign was hung precariously underneath a large wooden sign that read "The Golden Saloon".

"Real original," mumbled Dawn as she read the sign, "How many times has that been in a movie? You'd think it'd be copyrighted by now. Copywrote? Whatever."

Above the wooden sign was a large canopy that was wavering under the hail but showed no signs of collapsing. It appeared to be determined to weather out the storm.

Warren sat under the canopy and Dawn sat about a foot away from him, carefully removing the jacket from her head and wrapping it around her body as she shivered from cold.

"What's wrong with you? Quit being so nervous." Warren growled, suddenly seizing her by the shoulder and dragging her closer to him until she was pressed close to his side. "I'm doing this because it's freezing out here, you understand." He rumbled in her ear.

Dawn was caught off guard, and her body tensed up as he increased their physical contact. One of his bare arms was wrapped around her shoulders, and his other hand rested on her knee. She was much warmer now, but she was still shivering…although not from the cold. Her contact with Warren and his arm around her was sending uncontrollable shudders up and down her spine.

He, however, mistook the tremors as signs that he was failing to keep her warm, so his hand that had previously rested on Dawn's knee moved to wrap around her in a Warren-ish hug of sorts. "Better?"

"I'm…not really…sure."

This response caused Warren to shift slightly so he could envelope her closer to his body.

"No, no," Dawn protested, putting her hands on his chest to stop him as her wits returned, "I'm okay now. Thanks."

His dark eyes shifted around, and he released one arm from her. "Okay then."

"That's not…" Dawn paused, "not exactly what I meant. I was okay when you had me in your arms, but now I'm getting, um, cold again." It was a lie, and a blatantly obvious one at that, and Warren knew it.

His other arm slipped back around her shoulders, and Dawn slid her hands up and around his back to return his embrace.

"Warren, I know I'm kind of breaking my 'I just need a friend' rule and everything, so I'm sorry." She mumbled into the pyrokinetic's chest. The fact that she could feel his heart beating just as quickly as hers put her at a certain degree of ease.

"Don't be sorry." Warren murmured, resting his chin on her head. "We're still friends. We have an excuse to be hugging underneath the canopy of a saloon during a hailstorm, remember?"

"And what was that excuse again?"

"It's cold. Now shut up; you're wasting energy by talking."

Dawn shuddered through a silent laugh; it sounded like Warren was concerned she was going to freeze to death out in the cold. Granted, it _was_ really, really cold, and being held by Warren _was_ really, really nice, but…

Finally, she realized there was no 'but'. It was really, really cold, and being held by Warren was really, really nice. Period.

Dawn snuggled her head closer to Warren's chest and felt his iron-like muscles tighten protectively around her. With their arms around each other and Dawn's head cradled near Warren's collarbone, they drifted off to sleep with only each other's heartbeats and the shattering hail for ambience.

---

**_AN: Hope you enjoyed and whatnot! My dog is much better, thankfully, and I had a bit more time this evening for my writingness._**

**_And yes, I know this one was a very fluffy chapter, but I've been wanting to write a sweet one for a while now. Deal with it. _**

**_Yours always,_**

**_Corvaisis_**


	11. Best Dream or Worst Nightmare?

**_AN: Gasp! Look who did, in fact, survive through Hurricane Rita and is back with more Warren-goodness? This chapter has both fluff and non-fluff and lots of different interpretations as to what can happen, so you'll have to excuse my evil grin._**

**_Enjoy!_**

**_Corvaisis_**

**---**

**Chapter Eleven: Best Dream or Worst Nightmare?**

"**_I cannot share your opinion of Pierre, whom I knew as a child. He always seemed to me to have an exceptionally good heart, and that is the quality I value most in people. …But I am still sorry for Pierre. So young and burdened with such wealth! To what temptations will he not be exposed? If I were asked what I desire most on earth, it would be to be poorer than the poorest beggar." _**

**Count Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace, page 130**

Dawn awoke with a cough. Not feeling anyone close to her, she was afraid she had dreamt her whole encounter with Warren, but as she opened her eyes and looked around, she was relieved to see he was merely asleep some distance away from her.

"Real smooth, Dawn," she muttered, rubbing her eyes, "You get one chance with the guy of a lifetime, you're in his arms, and you fall asleep. What kind of girl _are_ you?"

After stretching her legs and fully opening her eyes, she took the time to fondly observe Warren. At some point during the night, he had curled up into a small, protective ball and was now out from under the canopy with his knees pulled to his chin. Fortunately, it had stopped hailing, but it appeared that he had been out in the hail sometime, as evidenced by the cuts on his back and shoulders where hail had cut into his skin.

Warren was now racking with choked sobs and was trembling erratically. His brow was furrowed in a most pitiful manner, and his hands were frequently lighting and extinguishing over and over again.

Dawn carefully walked over to the pyrokinetic and ran a hand down his upper arm. His deltoid muscle tensed reflexively under her touch, and his hands stopped igniting.

"Dawn?"

She cringed; she hadn't known he was awake, and now she was caught with her hand on his arm. Hmm.

"Yeah?" Dawn squeaked.

When she wasn't met with a response, she realized he hadn't actually woken up; he was talking in his sleep.

She continued her hand down his arm until she got to his flame tattooed wrist, and she entwined her fingers with his. "I'm here, Warren."

His stiffened body relaxed under her touch, but he created a firm grip on her hand. His breathing came in slow, heavy gasps, as though he had been running for miles and could now rest. Dawn's hand stayed in his, answering his grip with one of her own, but her other hand strayed to his hair, which she affectionately caressed.

"I'm with you, Warren."

"Dawn?"

"I'm right here."

"Did I hurt you? Are you okay?"

Suddenly, the telekinetic realized that Warren _had_ woken up, and she quickly released his hand and stood. "Y-yeah, I'm fine. Why?"

He stood up as well, testing his legs and flexing his hands. "When people touch me while I'm sleeping, they usually get hurt. Did I burn you? Hit you?"

Dawn held out her arms for him to examine her. "I'm fine. What…what were you dreaming about?"

"It's not important." Warren growled, now satisfied that he hadn't hurt her, and he turned away. "What time is it?"

Dawn checked her watch. They had only been asleep for a few hours; it was almost six, and she told him so.

Warren retrieved his jacket from where Dawn had discarded it sometime in the night. "I'll walk you home."

"You don't have to do - "

The pyrokinetic turned towards Dawn fiercely and fixed her with a dark, savage gaze. "What have you learned about arguing with me?"

She shrank back visibly and winced. "Never do it?"

"That's right. I'll walk you home."

"Okay then." Dawn was rather subdued now, and she wondered how Warren could afford to change his personality so quickly. First he was romantic, then he was abrupt, then he was angry.

They walked silently down a few blocks until they reached Dawn's house, and she started to walk up the sidewalk.

"Dawn." Warren murmured, barely loud enough for her to hear.

She looked back over her shoulder and saw him smiling very, very slightly. "What is it?" She asked, planting her hands on her hips. "I don't have your jacket this time."

"I know." He whispered, walking up the sidewalk until he could take her hand. Dawn could feel his pulse beating rapidly in his wrist, and she looked up at him hopefully.

"Dawn, I…what I did today was really uncalled for, under the canopy and all. Holding you. I didn't even ask you, you know?"

The telekinetic couldn't believe what she was hearing. "You think I'm mad at you for keeping me warm?"

"I was keeping you warm by holding you; cradling you in my arms. It was completely out of character and uncalled for, and I wanted to say I'm sorry." Warren scuffed a shoe and involuntarily dipped his head closer to Dawn's.

_Opportune moment, Dawn. Work up the nerve! Push down your anxiety! You can do this, you can do this, you can do this._ Dawn mind was yelling at her to take advantage of the moment before Warren was gone.

_I can do this._

She stood on her toes to reach him and pressed her lips to his, slipping one arm around his neck and leaving her other hand captured by his. Her bold action caught him off guard, and he tensed up, pushing her away. Dawn mentally swore; she knew it had been a bad idea!

_I can't believe I just did that._

_I tried to kiss Warren Peace. _

Warren slipped his arm around the small of Dawn's back and pulled her close to him, but he hissed in her ear, "_Never_ do that again; I told you I don't do relationships. When I held you out under the canopy, no matter what you're thinking, I did it to keep you warm. Do you understand me?"

His voice was low and quietly dangerous, but Dawn noticed a tremor in it.

"Yes, sir; I understand." The telekinetic subconsciously used the tone – and the title – she would normally use with her father. She noticed that at her use of the term 'sir', Warren flinched slightly, and he released her.

"There was something else I wanted to say." He muttered, the anger vanishing from his voice, along with the tremor.

There was a fleeting silence that hung thickly in the air before Dawn impatiently gestured for him to go on.

"Personally, I think Homecoming is stupid, but you _appear_ to be just _dying_ to go, so…yeah." Warren dropped his gaze from hers and ran his tongue reflexively over his lips, and Dawn found herself transfixed by that.

"Wait, what?" She blurted, nervously running a hand through her hair.

Warren at last muttered, "I'll go with you if I have to," as though the dance was going to rip all of his strength and dignity from him if he went, but he would make the sacrifice if necessary.

The silent gap that seemed to be so fond of conversations between Warren and Dawn snuck in once more and planted itself immediately after Warren's regretful statement. The two individuals were both quiet for a while, one from nervousness and one from staggered amazement, until Dawn finally broke the silence with her agreement.

"Then it's settled?"

"Sure. But - "

"I know, I know, you're not renting a tux."

Warren gave her a strange glance. "I was going to ask if it was okay if I wore my dad's old tux."

The telekinetic turned bright red and gulped, at last regaining her wits and nodding wordlessly.

"Good. I'll pick you up at six on Friday," Warren gave her the briefest of smiles, "if you and your prom dress can fit on my motorcycle."

---

**_AN: Muahaha. Hope you liked; more updates are on the way!_**

**_Ever thine,_**

**_Corvaisis_**


	12. Alone in the Dark

**_A/N: Ahhh, I love you guys._**

The fic is back up, as lively as ever, and will most definitely be continued and brought to an end as soon as possible. I hope you enjoy this chapter; it's longer than most others, so I hope it'll make up at least partially for my hiatus.

**_As you all know by now, I do tend to have an affinity for cliffhangers, but you have been warned. Enjoy, my loyal readers, and thank you for kicking me back into action!_**

**_Corvaisis_**

---

**Chapter Twelve: Alone in the Dark**

"**_To live solely to avoid evil, so as not to repent, is not enough. I lived like that, I lived for myself, and it ruined my life. And only now when I am living for others, or at least trying to" (modesty compelled Pierre to correct himself) "only now do I realize all the happiness life holds."_**

**Count Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace, page 465**

"I thought you said we were looking for Battle's son."

"We are. That was him."

"The one holding the girl?"

"Such behavior is unusual for him, I concur. However, that _was_ Barron Battle's son."

Two voices echoed sharply in the entryway of an old saloon. If Dawn and Warren had been looking hard enough, they would've seen that inside the building the stood behind them, there were two faces peering out through the dim window that had been laced with aged opacity.

The first voice that had spoken was as loud, harsh, and grating as the hail that had recently stopped. The second was silky smooth, almost pacifying in an unsettling and disconcerting manner.

"Hunt him down tonight." The calloused tone reverberated once more.

"I will. But there's one more thing I need to tell you."

In the darkness of the now un-lit tavern, it was almost impossible to see the first man waving his hand impatiently. "Yes, yes, out with it, fool."

It was even more impossible to see the wraith-like shadow take a step forward, draw a gun, and plant a bullet between the eyes of the individual so near to him. "You of all people know I work best alone."

* * *

"How was your day, sweetheart?" Mrs. Odelle called up to her daughter, an optimistic tone ringing in her words. Dawn had always loved her mother's voice; it was pleasantly low instead of high and tinkling - high, tinkling voices annoyed Dawn to no end - and it had a firm set to it. Her mother was gentle, but she was also steadfast and unwavering with a disciplinary air to her. Dawn wouldn't want it any other way.

"It was great, mother," Mrs. Odelle hated being called 'mom', so Dawn constantly, reflexively called her 'mother', "thanks for asking. How was yours?" This was also an instinctive habit of Dawn's; immediately asking how her mother was or how her day had been. It wasn't just an automatic response, because Dawn really did care, but she had been raised to be respectful, particularly to adults.

Of course, she slipped out of line on occasion, but today was too good of a day for that to happen.

"It was fine. Are you ready for dinner?"

"I think I'll skip it tonight, if you don't mind. Not hungry."

"Alright, no problem; your father won't be getting in until late tonight because of that business trip."

"Yes, mother."

Dawn sighed under her breath. Frequent business trips kept her father painfully absent from them too often. At least a week per month, he was out of state - or country - and he worked overtime on normal weekdays. He was just like that.

The telekinetic, one of the few dwindling first generation superheroes (or sidekicks), twirled around lazily in her computer chair, musing. She was just about to pop open a 'Word' document on her computer to record the day's events - she had never cared much for paper diaries and instead preferred electronic ones - when she heard faint yelling from outside. Dawn's room was on the second floor, so it was easy for her to glance out the window and onto the front yard.

She didn't like what she was seeing.

Warren's motorcycle was on its side in the grass, abruptly thrown down. Warren himself was now speeding up the sidewalk, shouting Dawn's name. As soon as he got to the door, he started beating furiously on it.

"Open it, mother!" Dawn yelled, scrambling out of her chair and falling down the stairs in her haste to get to the door.

Mrs. Odelle opened the door, and Warren darted in, slamming the door behind him and locking it.

"What is it, Warren?" Dawn asked hurriedly, quickly regaining her composure and trying to sit casually on the bottom stair after falling upon it. Her peripheral vision told her that her mother was giving her The Look that she usually got when boys came to the house unannounced.

Not that she got many, of course.

At first Dawn thought Warren was angry at her, but as soon as she noticed the look in her eyes, it registered. Fear radiated from them, identical to the fear she had seen in the cafeteria.

He was being chased.

"Upstairs," Warren ordered, "_now_."

Dawn swore under her breath - receiving another Look from her mother - and grabbed Warren by the shoulder, running him upstairs.

"Dawn? _Dawn!_" Her mother yelled from downstairs, baffled by her daughter's burst of irrationality.

"It's important, mother; I swear!" Dawn yelled back, practically trying to throw Warren into her room as she got to the second floor.

As soon as they were inside her room, Dawn shoved Warren into her closet. "Stay there!" She hissed, concern and trepidation in her eyes. "Please, Warren. _Stay put._"

He shook his head and tried to fight his way past her, but her physical strength and mental strength were enough to shove the door shut and plant a large suitcase in front of it, barricading his pathway out.

"Odelle!" Warren yelled, beating against the door with all his strength and attempting to burn his way through the wood. "Dawn, get back here!"

Try as he might, there was something preventing Warren from burning through the door. He was stuck behind it and was entirely helpless and vulnerable.

Vulnerability was not an emotion that Warren Peace enjoyed feeling.

Time passed as Warren struck the walls and door that surrounded him, bellowing for Dawn to let him out. He knew in the pit of his stomach that neither of them had seen the full capabilities of whatever was chasing them, and his protective instincts were beginning to take him over. He couldn't let it hurt her.

The noise of a door being ripped off its hinges was immediately and painfully evident. Not the closet door, unfortunately; it was the door to Dawn's room. Just as Warren was about to continue pounding on the closet entrance and trying to kick through it, an earth-shattering scream reached his ears. It was full of terror, dread, and the sound of one being brought to the brink of death and back again. The scream stopped abruptly.

Too abruptly.

With a vengeful roar, Warren lit himself and melted the doorknob and hinges clean off, causing the door to fall forward onto the barricade in front of the closet. The falling door tripped him slightly as he came stumbling out, but he ignored the pain in his ankle and charged forward.

As the flames lapped out of his vision and he got a clear look around the room, Warren stopped in his tracks. The shadow had fled the area, but that fact failed to hold the pyro's attention for very long.

All he could bring himself to focus on was the tattered and bloodied…_thing_ in the corner of the room; a bloodied mass of rubble and most probably Dawn. "Please don't let this be a person; please don't let this be a person." He muttered under his breath, his stomach lurching. He'd seen plenty of torn up people on TV, but the actual reality of the situation hit him like a slap in the face…or a hot poker to the eye.

He gritted his teeth and stood motionless outside the battered closet for just enough time to whisper, "God, if You're out there and Dawn's still alive…" Warren wasn't much of a religious person, but he felt like now was as good a time to ask God for help as any, "help me talk to her. I have to tell her before I don't have the chance anymore."

---

**_Yay cliffhangers!_**

**_I intend to post the next chapter quite soon; hopefully before Christmas. Hope you're having as much fun reading as I am writing!_**

**_Corvaisis_**


	13. Do No Harm

**Chapter Thirteen: Do No Harm**

**_A woman rushed out and seeing Prince Andrei stopped, hesitating on the threshold. Prince Andrei went into his wife's room. She was dead, lying in the same position he had seen her in a few minutes earlier, and despite the fixed eyes and the pallor of her cheeks, there was the same expression on her charming, timid, childlike little face with its downy upper lip:_**

"_**I love you all and have done no one any harm, and what have you done to me?"**_

**Count Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace, page 400**

Warren finally gathered enough courage to walk over across to the bloodied heap, and he swallowed hard as he reached it. What he had failed to notice previously was that Dawn's large computer chair and small lamp stand had been ripped apart, bloodied, and overturned on top of a delicate human frame. He knew instinctively that it was Dawn because from under part of the chair, a slender left hand poked out. On the ring finger of the hand was the telltale "True Love Waits" ring, smeared by blood but still intact.

"Why?" Warren choked out, at first not sure he could bring himself to touch her, and then carefully running his fingertips across the obviously fractured wrist. "It wasn't enough for that thing to make you fear it," he murmured, fighting angry tears, "it had to kill you too." His fingers finally reached her palm, and he traced her hand gently.

He instinctively jerked back and let out a sharp growl as Dawn's fingers suddenly clutched tightly over his hand.

She was still alive.

The pyrokinetic wasted no time. Grabbing the chair, Warren hauled it off first, pushing the lamp stand off of her as soon as he had thrown the chair to the far side of the room. He turned around and was about to offer a hand of assistance in her rising when he sucked in a breath through his teeth and grimaced.

Dawn's eyes were open and flicking around the room, and he could hear small whimpers coming from her mouth, but he wasn't encouraged simply by the basic life that still resided in her. Whatever their dark enemy had done, it had done it well and had left her for dead. Dawn's left leg was broken from the force of the lamp stand and the chair both piled on top of it; her left wrist was broken as Warren had previously assessed. She also appeared to be having trouble breathing, and under closer - but gentle - examination, he found out why: at least three ribs had been snapped and were now pressing down on her lung. Warren could only hope the lung hadn't been punctured.

"Thank God you're alive. Can you talk, baby?" He whispered, sub-consciously using the term of endearment and, under his breath, thanking God profusely.

"I don't…don't go down that…easy." Dawn responded haltingly, her voice coming in short gasps but stronger than he had hoped for.

Warren uttered yet another "thank _God_" and resisted the urge to hug her. After thinking she was dead, seeing how badly she was hurt, but hearing her voice again, he was about to cry from relief.

However, he didn't, because Warren Peace never cried in front of people.

In spite of that, he slipped his hand back into hers, trying unsuccessfully to ignore the disconcerting chill of her skin. Finally, he squeezed it gently and murmured deeply in her ear, "Your hands are cold."

"You of all…all people can f-fix that."

With a small smirk, Warren slowly but steadily increased the heat in his hand and was encouraged by the warming of hers. A salty tear ringed the lower lid of his dark eye, and he turned his head in a failing attempt to not let her see.

"H-help me…up, you emotional…boy." Dawn teased through her pain, her situation ironically reversing her normal attitude towards Warren. Her injuries forced her to be stronger, for Warren's sake, but she wasn't sure she could do it.

Warren released her, ran a hand across his eyes, and stood, shaking his head. "I'm going to go call an ambulance."

Just before he turned away, the pyrokinetic looked back down and remembered his frantic prayer to God just before he had discovered Dawn: _help me tell her before I don't have the chance anymore._

"Dawn?" He gently whispered, kneeling back down and taking her hand again. The thought of how cliché this was was quickly drowned out by what he was trying to say.

"Warren," Dawn whispered back, taking minimal effort in speech and therefore shortening the gasps in her sentences, "I swear to you that…one, I don't…don't have your jacket, two…you don't need to ap-apologize for anything, and…and there is no three. Do you s-still need to say something?"

He gave a half-grin and looked down, nodding briefly, not only as confirmation but also as a sign of gratitude for her attempts at making him more at ease.

"Yeah, I do. I lo…" Warren stopped on the beginning of the next word. _Did_ he love her?

He chickened out at the end and wouldn't complete his sentence. "Nothing's going to take you away from me, Dawn, especially since something almost did today." His bass voice was a mere wisp of sound now, since he had always been hesitant with his feelings. Ever since he was a child, people had been letting him down, abandoning him, and taking advantage of his feelings, and it took trust for him to allow Dawn to even see this side of him.

The telekinetic nodded and smiled weakly, but inside her stomach twisted more than it had before.

_He never could love me._ She thought bitterly, clenching her right fist but then bringing it up to tuck a strand of Warren's hair behind his ear.

Pain racked her body, but Dawn's affection for Warren had sparked a deep will to survive inside of her. In the same way, Warren's hidden affection for Dawn had created in him the knowledge that he would do whatever it took to keep her alive. However, Warren's tendency to keep to himself had unknowingly caused Dawn's emotional pain to exceed her physical pain.

He paced towards the door, his elated joy at finding Dawn alive beginning to transition into a mechanical task list in his head; the splintered door that their attacker had ripped apart lay in the rubble beneath his feet, but he ignored it. Dawn was hurt, her mother was probably dead, and this shadow had apparently gotten much more physical as the intensity of its attacks grew.

Warren decided that first his duty was to find Mrs. Odelle and determine her safety or lack thereof; the ambulance could come next. As long as Dawn's lung wasn't punctured, he wasn't on the clock quite as much. He walked carefully down the stairs, avoiding more splintered wood and fallen paintings. The trail of rubble led, surprisingly, not towards the door but towards the kitchen of all places.

"Mrs. Odelle?" Warren called, the strength of his voice returning.

"In here, dear." Mrs. Odelle's voice rang back grimly, coming from the kitchen. The response startled Warren; he didn't actually expect her to be still in the house, capable of speech, or even alive.

He turned the corner into the kitchen and blinked a few times, not sure of exactly what he was seeing.

Mrs. Odelle stood, slightly scratched up but not much the worse for wear, beside a flaring and flaming oven that had been very recently nailed closed and barricaded shut with an overturned table. The expression on her face was one of determination, and held loosely in her right hand was a regulation fire extinguisher.

Warren raised an eyebrow and gestured to the oven. "I'm sure this has an interesting story behind it."

Dawn's mother ignored his comment and gave a worried glance upstairs. "Dawn?" She asked quietly, taking a step toward the stairs.

"Broken leg, wrist, and ribs." Warren responded briskly.

"I'll call an ambulance."

---

**_A/N: Merry Christmas, y'all. _**

**_I think chapter fourteen is going to be the completing chapter, unless I get sidetracked and end up pushing it to fifteen for whatever reason my muse inspires upon me. Hope you like this one._**

**_Before I leave you all for the holidays, at least for a little while, I'd like to throw out a quick "thank you very very very very much" to_** **_patiens-liberi.She hasreviewed a ton of my earlier chapters before the story got as popular as it hasand is back as of the last couple of chapters with more of her insightful comments. Without you, this story would've had trouble getting off the runway, so thank you._**

**_Like I said in my last A/N, after my last chapter, I'll try and add another special one to thank you guys specifically. Hope you enjoyed this chapter, though I warn you that it may be a little while before I get the last one up because of holiday entanglements. _**

**_Have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!_**

**_Corvaisis_**


	14. Lost in Translation

**_A/N: Many apologies for the rather lengthy hiatus; I'm working on several pieces right now (this is the only fan fiction; don't get your hopes up too high) so it's taking me a while to pay attention to everything._**

**_This may get pushed more realistically to possibly seventeen chapters or more, depending on when my muse will let me stop. I promise you that, despite appearances, this isn't over yet. _**

**_Also, many thanks to Zacharee for beta-ing this chapter for me on such short notice. I did choose to disregard some comments, however, so the discrepencies herein remain mine. Reviews, comments, e-mails, or all of the above are very welcome. I've gotten a couple e-mails saying "though you're probably too busy to respond to this..." and I'd like to just remind you all that I do check my e-mail daily and will get back to you. I value the time you take to compliment me on my mediocre story._**

**_Without further ado, I present to you..._**

---

**Chapter Fourteen: Lost in Translation**

**_Pierre felt as though he had suddenly come to life after a deep swoon. He held his head higher, his eyes shone with the light of life, as with swift strides he followed and overtook the girl and came out on Povarskaya Street. The whole street was shrouded in clouds of black smoke. Here and there tongues of flame broke through the haze. _**

**Count Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace, page 1108**

Warren sat in one of the kitchen chairs and wished he had something to calm his nerves. "So, Mrs. Odelle," he began, leaning back in the chair and reflexively tapping his fingers against the side of it, "what exactly happened down here?" He gestured to the oven, which was still flaring inside but had died down considerably.

Dawn's mother pulled up a chair across from the pyrokinetic, toying with the phone she had just used to order an ambulance. "Dawn's told me about the time you saved the school from the shadow using your fire."

"Well it wasn't just me," Warren interrupted modestly, "there were - "

"Don't interrupt me, young man."

He blinked. "Yes, ma'am."

"Fire appeared to be its weakness when set upon it extensively. I was in its way when it came down here, we tussled for a little while, and I trapped it inside the oven. The substance isn't exactly flammable but is more like a mixture of water and puffs of oxygen. When lit, it does…that." Mrs. Odelle pointed to the oven, where bursts of flame were visible through the small transparent opening.

"You're burning it to death in an oven?" Warren asked, raising an eyebrow. "Doesn't seem like an effective seal."

Mrs. Odelle gestured to her nail gun on the counter and extensive nails, props, and barricades applied to the oven. "Normally, no, but I'm making do and it seems to be working." Coincidentally, it was at just this point that the flames in the oven abruptly died down and gave a final whimpering flicker before extinguishing entirely.

There was a pause, filled by Warren shifting nervously, before he finally awkwardly suggested they open the oven.

"Oh, let its remains rot." Mrs. Odelle muttered, making her way to the stairs, "I'm going to go get Dawn."

Warren flushed and looked down, berating himself for abandoning Dawn in her room. He, with the assistance of Dawn's mother, carried the beaten girl downstairs where they laid her on a couch to await the ambulance.

"Did that thing say anything about why it was after us?" Warren muttered, carefully propping a pillow up underneath Dawn's head.

Mrs. Odelle looked up in surprise and shook her head, "It's not the movies, my dear; sometimes not everything is revealed." She reminded him calmly - far too calmly, in Warren's opinion - as if her remark would explain everything.

"But mother," Dawn piped up softly from her position on the couch, the pillow making it easier for her to breathe, "sometimes it's not that cliché, no, but sometimes other predictable stuff…_does _happen. Like the hero getting the girl." Warren's head shot up at her not-so-subtle remark, but she refused to meet Warren's gaze. He suddenly appeared to be exceedingly interested in the fuzz of the carpet.

Mrs. Odelle nodded her confirmation and abruptly left the room, calling back an excuse about cleaning the kitchen.

Warren rubbed a hand across his eyes, sat in a chair across from Dawn's couch, and slouched wearily. "This is incredibly anti-climactic; I can't believe your mom beat me to that thing." He growled under his breath.

Dawn looked over, had the urge to ask if he had planned on avenging her, but failed miserably in her attempts to do so. Somehow, even after all they'd been through together, she still felt like a lovesick puppy around him. "Like mom said, it's not…the movies. But Warren, I'm…sorry I shut you in the closet. I didn't want you to get hurt."

As Dawn apologized, Warren's mind was filled with what had just happened, and the anger swept through his body again. "If you hadn't put me in there, neither _one_ of us would have gotten hurt." He snapped, running a hand through his hair and gritting his teeth.

"It would have k-killed you!" Dawn stammered, clenching her fists as her exertion flooded her body with pain.

"That's not true!" The pyrokinetic snarled, rising to his feet and stepping over to the couch. "It almost killed _you_ because I _wasn't_ there!"

Dawn looked up defiantly at Warren but soon withered under his gaze. "I _didn't _die, though, and I think that - "

"I don't give a damn what you think you did right or wrong!" The pyrokinetic's growl tore from his throat and his hands immediately ignited.

Dawn flinched and cowered, looking down at her broken leg, which was now beginning to bleed on the couch. Her stomach flipped as she realized how close to death Warren had _thought_ she had come, and how close she _could_ have come. The telekinetic began to feel sick as she looked at her own blood, so she turned her eyes back to Warren's angry face.

It made her feel just as torn apart inside.

"Warren, I…don't know what you want to hear."

The young man's anger slipped as he saw her dejected demeanor, and he ran a hand over his eyes, grinding his teeth. "I don't know what I want to hear either." He muttered, sitting on the carpet by the couch and resting his back against the arm. Part of him wanted to deck her for being so stupid, but the other part told him he'd have plenty of time to do that when her leg _wasn't_ in pieces.

There was a vigorous knocking on the front door, and Mrs. Odelle scrambled from her position in the kitchen to open it. Warren realized she must have heard him screaming at her daughter, and he was startled as to why she didn't stop him. Instead of asking, he just watched. As she opened the door, one of the hinges broke off from previous strain, but she ignored it.

She ushered two tawny-headed young men into the living room, assisting them with the stretched they bore between them.

"I'll get her on, mate." One of the men said to Warren as the pyrokinetic stood, the first's voice displaying a distinct Australian twang.

"No; I will." Warren said flatly, slipping one forearm under Dawn's upper back and the other under her knees. As he lifted her up, Dawn tried not to get carried away with her thoughts. She could tell he was being as gentle as possible, but his arm under her leg still felt uncomfortable. Her arms involuntarily wrapped around Warren's neck, and she rested her head on his collarbone.

As he set her on the stretcher and she was forced to relinquish her position in his arms, Dawn took a chance and snuck a quick press of her lips against the side of Warren's neck. It was like a kiss begging his forgiveness, and she opened her mouth slightly, her breath warm against his already hot skin. Dawn was tempted to make it last longer but was afraid of what he might do to her if she did. Before anyone around them could notice, she had pulled her mouth away. He audibly sucked in a breath of air, but continued to lower her gently onto the stretcher. When he stood again and she met his gaze, there was something in his eyes Dawn didn't quite recognize and wasn't sure she wanted to. She broke the gaze and finally noticed that one of the attendants - the one who wasn't Australian - was watching her very intently. She ground her teeth and closed her eyes, allowing the two men to carry her to the ambulance.

Being in the back, she didn't notice Warren climbing into the passenger seat of the ambulance and insisting he come along.

---

**_Working my hands off here in Texas. Keep reading and I'll keep writing!_**

**_Corvaisis_**


	15. Revolutions

**_My dear readers,_**

**_Been a while, hasn't it?_ _I apologize again for my schedule and lack of regularity in updating. I'm trying to get my feet back under me with this story and finally wrap things up. I predict seventeen chapters total, and I'm working on them right now, so hopefully, if you guys remind me enough, I'll have this thing completed. And they can all live happily ever after...we hope. P_**

**_ Ahem. Before I spoil my story, I present to you...  
_  
Chapter Fifteen: Revolutions**

_Bleep…bleep…bleep…_

The soft, high pitched ring of a steady heart monitor echoed in Dawn's insipid hospital room. She had passed out in the ambulance on the way to St. Luke's Children's Hospital, but Warren couldn't tell if she was still unconscious or just in a deep sleep now.

He knew once she recovered more, she wouldn't escape a thorough, scalding talking to, but he couldn't bring himself to do it while she was in this state. She had acted stupidly, he knew it, her mother knew it, but she knew it too. It wouldn't do either of them any good for him to start lacerating her as soon as she woke up.

Warren swore softly under his breath. "Shouldn't have let this happen." He mumbled.

"Don't beat y'self up, mate." The Australian medic - his badge read "Littleton" - quipped from the back of the room, having snuck in without Warren's knowledge…or permission.

The pyrokinetic glared at Dawn's still form but didn't look up. "Get out."

"Easy, brother; I'm just - "

"Get _out._"

An insult slipped between the medic's lips before he gave a malicious goodbye and shuffled out the door.

Warren's gaze softened again as he looked at Dawn. "Nobody gets to come near you." He whispered, taking her hand gently.

He ran his fingers over her palm as he reflected on how strange actually holding someone's hand was. He didn't come in physical contact with many people if he could help it - even in fights he much preferred using ranged attacks like fire instead of fists. And holding a _girl's_ hand? A month ago he would've laughed at himself. Today…he wasn't really sure what he was doing.

Dawn's skin was soft and smooth, despite the trauma her whole body had gone through, and it was cool in his warm grasp. His fingers instinctively clasped in with hers and he rubbed hot circles on the back of her hand.

"…What am I doing?" He grumbled, dropping her hand roughly back onto the hospital bed and crossing his arms defensively.

Fifteen seconds passed before a small, salty tear slipped out of the corner of Dawn's closed eye.

It didn't pass Warren's notice, but he failed to do anything about it.

-

"Yes, Mrs. Odelle, your daughter will be fine. It's a miracle _you_ weren't hurt."

"You didn't answer my question. _When will she wake up?_"

Inside the head surgeon's office, a different sort of battle raged. The poor doctor was under attack by Dawn's mother, who was very insistent upon knowing the ins and outs of her daughter's procedure.

"My father was a doctor, and he wouldn't have let a mother go without knowing every little detail about her own offspring's surgery!"

"Ma'am, you're free to go see your daughter any - "

"I don't need to _see_ her; I need to _know things._"

"Ma'am, I - "

"You _what?_"

"If you'd calm - "

"_I am. Calm._"

"Yes ma'am."

It was the hospital's misfortune that they didn't have a more hard-headed head surgeon.

-

Just outside the hospital grounds, a shadow lurked. This was strange, because shadows do not usually tend to lurk, and particularly not at high noon. But there it was nonetheless, gliding towards the door of the hospital.

As a hospital attendant walked by the door, it melted into a corner and stayed as still as possible.

_The woman will be the first to go,_ the creature mused, _for being arrogant enough to think fire could kill me._

_And then the target will finally be eliminated once there is no one left to stop me. _

The attendant finally disappeared around the corner, and the shadow entered the hospital building unbarred.

---

_**AN: Voila. Enjoyed, I hope? Back to work now...**_

_**Corvaisis **_


	16. Final: Resolutions and Revelations

**_A/N: Ladies and gentlemen, boys, and girls, I am VERY pleased to present to you the final, longest, and most exciting chapter of my story, "Her War with Peace"! Filled with romance, action, fire, and darkness, I offer as my final installment..._  
**

**  
Chapter Sixteen: Resolutions and Revelations**

Jeanette Odelle stormed out of Dr. Howell's office in a fury. The unfortunate aforementioned doctor had made the mistake of attempting to patronize a mother's instinctive worry, though he had providentially suffered no injury except that to his pride.

Jeanette scanned the room numbers until she found Dawn's. "Sweetheart?" She called softly as she opened the door quietly.

"She's sleeping." Warren responded, not taking his eyes off of Dawn but recognizing Mrs. Odelle's voice. "She's been sleeping all day."

When he finally looked up at her, Dawn's mother was surprised to find tears in the pyrokinetic's eyes. "What did the doctor say?"

"What all doctors say: that they're trying their hardest, that they've done what they can do, and that she'll be fine."

"Xi-huan guei." Warren muttered, and Mrs. Odelle smiled wryly.

"I agree; 'like _heck_'." She admonished. "No swearing around my daughter, even if it is in Chinese and she's unconscious."

"Yes, ma'am." Warren responded dryly, but no smile crossed his face. "I'm worried about her." He regretfully admitted, leaning back in his chair and running his hand over his face as though he was trying to wipe all his worries away.

"I know."

The two sat in silence for a moment before Jeanette stood. "I'm going to the house to clean things up since I don't think there's anything I can do here. Keep an eye on her, would you, Warren?"

"Yeah."

"She she ni."

That _did_ summon at least a small smile to Warren's face; Mrs. Odelle was an interesting woman.

As the hospital door swung shut behind Dawn's mother, Warren ran his fingers through his hair. It was going to be a long day.

-

Now inside the hospital, the shadow slunk into a corner and peered across the hall at a chart listing patients and room numbers.

**- Ms.** **Dawn Odelle, Rm. 211 **- was scribbled in typical doctor's handwriting across the chart.

With no comment or even stray thought, the darkness shifted and slid up a flight of stairs and down two corridors until it stopped just outside the room. Identifying the number as the correct one, it slipped underneath the door and immediately melted to the floor as it spotted Warren. The pyrokinetic still had his back to the door and apparently had yet to notice the new visitor.

Two smoky tendrils stretched towards Warren's back. As soon as they made contact, the latter leapt out of his chair and whirled around, his throat constricting and his eyes confused.

"Idiot," the shadow hissed, "to think you could be rid of me so easily."

All Warren could do was make choking noises…and blow a fireball through the shadow's midsection.

It hissed again - this time in pain rather than contempt - and released its hold on his throat. Warren's breath came back in gasps, and he stood still momentarily, glaring at his opponent.

"You can't have her." He growled.

"I don't want her," the darkness whispered back, "I want _you_."

This caused a brief pause in conversation before Warren responded. "I don't go for your kind, but thanks anyway."

It didn't seem to understand his sarcastic humor, though neither did it care. "I won't let you live."

"Ain't that a shame." Warren's hand shot out and another fireball tore through the shadow.

It snarled and grappled to hold him again, but as soon as it did, the pyrokinetic made fine use of his powers and it was forced to release him. This went back and forth for some time, the two circling the small room, determined to be the predator and not the prey.

Finally, the shadow sneered as it shrunk smaller. "How long do you think you can keep this up, boy? Are you just waiting for young nurses to hear the noise we're making, so I can take them too? Not everyone is as gifted as you, you know."

"But…I am."

Dawn's feeble voice piped up from the back of the room, as she slowly opened her eyes and glared condescendingly at the shadow.

"No, little girl, you're not." The shadow growled. "You're weak, especially in this state. You can't do anything to me." It stretched its tendrils toward her, but she slowly pushed them away telekinetically. It drained her mentally more than she'd ever been drained before, even to just turn the misty strands away like they were glass.

Only a few seconds went by before Dawn was so drained that she could no longer push the shadow to the side, and the wisps locked onto her wrist. No sooner had they done so, Dawn's breath began to be taken away.

"Don't _touch_ her!" Warren roared, the seconds-long window giving him enough time to gather himself and shoot a burst of flame at the shadow. It dropped her wrist and shrieked at him, shooting its entire mass around the telekinetic's form.

"Burn me, and you kill her! She's not strong enough to fight off fire from you!" The shadow screamed, for the first time showing genuine anger.

As it sucked the breath from Dawn, Warren clenched his fists helplessly.

And then he looked closer.

She wasn't choking; she was holding her breath. Her palms were up, her eyes were closed, and the shadow seemed to not be _touching_ her anymore as much as it was just floating around her.

_She better be doing what I think she's doing. _Warren thought desperately, knowing he would roast her if he was wrong.

_Now or never._

Eyeing the oxygen tank next to Dawn's hospital bed - fortunately it wasn't in use, - Warren blasted it with the most powerful fireball he could muster. It blew.

And it blew _hard_.

The entire tank exploded into a giant burst of flame, blinding the whole room with fire. The shadow disintegrated with a howling shriek, and Warren turned his head slightly, impervious to the heat.

Dawn, when inside the shadow's grasp, had used the last of her strength to form a telekinetic bubble around herself - much like the one she had used in the cafeteria on her first day of school. Inside the bubble, she deprived herself of oxygen and held her breath, hoping that Warren's next fireball would take out the shadow and not hurt her, since the fire would have no oxygen on which to survive.

Fortunately for her, he did one better than that.

As the fire dissipated into the air, Warren was pleased that his fire-resistant clothes had withstood the potential damage, and he didn't seem the mind that most of the things in the hospital room were now incinerated. However, since the area of Dawn's bed that she hadn't shielded was now on fire, he lifted her bridal-style from the sheets just as the hospital sprinkler system turned on.

As water sprayed from the ceiling, and Warren held Dawn sheltered in his arms, he bent his head toward her, attempting to block her from the sudden chill. She weakly and gently lifted her right hand, stroking his face and letting the droplets run onto her fingers.

"Is it over, Warren?" She whispered, still gasping for air.

"It's over, baby." He murmured back, nuzzling his head into her neck and holding her tightly. "It's over."

He sat on the tile floor and let the water pour over them as he cradled her in his arms, and there they stayed until the hospital attendees came rushing in to find them.

-

Two weeks later, after being visited by Warren every day she was away from school, Dawn announced to her mother that she was going to Sky High that day if it killed her. After being told not to joke about that, Mrs. Odelle gave her consent as long as she could get her wheelchair onto the bus - her broken wrist prevented her from using crutches.

At the bus-stop, students were more than willing to carry her onto the vehicle, having heard all about her escapades. Warren was sitting in the back of the bus, as usual, but his face lit up when he saw Dawn shyly wheeling her chair down to join him. It took some struggling to make sure she and the chair were both secure for the flight, but eventually success was granted to them.

Once at the school, Dawn took Warren aside. "Can we talk for a minute, sweetheart?"

"Sure."

After Warren had started calling her "baby", Dawn had decided to retaliate and find a good endearing term for him. Currently, she was trying out several.

The pyrokinetic knelt beside her wheelchair, and she ran her good hand through his hair, slipping it down to linger at his cheek. "Warren, we haven't had a good talk since all this started."

He gave her a puzzled look and shook his head, responding in his deep voice, "Talk about what?"

"Well…"us"." Dawn shrugged, looking down and taking her hand off of his strong-jawed face.

He grew quiet and made a frustrated noise. "I thought we talked about this."

"You said you didn't do relationships and we haven't talked about it since. What "talk" are you talking about?" Dawn made a face.

"I don't _do_ relationships."

"Like it or not, babe, we're _in_ one." Dawn said, surprising Warren and herself, "We're closer than friends are supposed to be, and we both know that. Just because you don't label it as a relationship doesn't mean it's not happening."

Warren sat on the floor beside Dawn's chair and gave a deep, - almost feral - growly sigh. It was the kind of noise that Dawn hadn't heard since before they had become friends.

Dawn was afraid she had offended him, and she averted her eyes, biting the edge of her lower lip at the same time.

Warren groaned. "Don't do that, baby. You don't know what you do to me."

She looked up hopefully, deciding not to ask, "Do what?" and just take advantage of the moment. "Does that mean…that you might be okay with acknowledging our relationship?"

"If you mean I'm in denial," he growled, leaning forward, just inches from her face, "then I would deny that."

"That's the point of denial," Dawn said, fighting a smile.

Warren leaned closer, his hair brushing her face gently, and his hands slipped to her waist, sending tingles up her spine. "I reject your reality, then, and substitute my own."

And that's when their lips met.

- The End-

_**Final Author's Note: **_

_**I surely hope you enjoyed the story, and thanks to ALL of you who bore with me the entire way through, even when I took infinitely, painfully long hiatuses. Hiatusii? Whatever. After sixty-two pages of solid Word documents, Her War with Peace is finally over. Thank you again.  
**_

_**And, I might add, they lived happily ever after.**_

_** Corvaisis  
**_


End file.
